www.bankiq.in February 2019
� TOPPER'S TALK 11ii11 BANKING AWARENESS f IN'DIA 6 THE WORLD 11 TAXATION ,�-.; CURRENT AFFAIRS e PRACTICE MCQ's BANKIQ.IN FEBRUARY 2019
INDEX
TOPPER’S TALK (1-2)
1) Banking & Financial Awareness (3-6) 2) Taxation (7-9) 3) Agriculture 10 4) Industry (11-13) 5) Infrastructure (14-15) 6) External Sector (16) 7) International A airs 17 8) India and the World (18-22) 9) Polity & Governance (23-25) 10)Appointments & Resignations (26-28) 11) Reports & Indices (29-30) 12) Miscellaneous (31-32) 13) Interim Budget 2019 (33-34)
PRACTICE CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’S 1) Banking & Financial Awareness (35-36) 2) Agriculture 36 3) Appointments & Resignations (36-39) 4) Defence & Security (39-40) 5) External Sector (40-41) 6) Honours & Awards (41-44) 7) India & the World (44-45) 8) Industry (45-46) 9) Infrastructure 46 10) International A airs (46-48) 11) Polity & Governance (48-51) 12) Reports & Indices (51-54) 13) Taxation (54-55) 14) Miscellaneous (55-61)
SOLUTIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’s 1) Banking & Financial Awareness (62-63) 2) Agriculture (63-64) 3) Appointments & Resignations (64-66) 4) Defence & Security (66-67) 5) External Sector (67-69) 6) Honours & Awards (69-72) 7) India & the World (72-73) 8) Industry 74 9) Infrastructure (75-76) 10) International A airs (76-78) 11) Polity & Governance (78-82) 12) Reports & Indices (82-86) 13)Taxation 86 14) Miscellaneous (86-93)
A STUDY IQ Initiative bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
TOPPERS’ TALK
Hi, I am Shubham Chand, I have quali ed SBI PO 2018 and I am from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. I have done my education from theMadan Mohan Malviya Institute of Technology, Gorakhpur, UP.
The government sector provides us job security, respect in society and stability for the long run in life. I was placed in a company from my college but after talking to my seniors I came to know about the pros and cons of working in a private sector. Then I decided to prepare for the government examinations.
Four months of preparation is enough to qualify a banking exam if and only if you have prepared whole-heartedly in those four years. I am a morning person hence like to study in the morning. I like to study those subjects in the morning in which we have to retain the things in our mind for the long term as our mind remains fresh in the morning. Subjects like General Awareness, English, and Vocabulary can be studied in the morning. Take rest for some time and do reasoning. Solve some puzzles and then switch to Quantitative Aptitude when your mind needs to think conceptually after studying the other two subjects from the beginning of the day.
Four months of preparation is enough to qualify a banking exam if and only if you have prepared whole-heartedly in those four years. I am a morning person hence like to study in the morning. I like to study those subjects in the morning in which we have to retain the things in our mind for the long term as our mind remains fresh in the morning. Subjects like General Awareness, English, and Vocabulary can be studied in the morning. Take rest for some time and do reasoning. Solve some puzzles and then switch to Quantitative Aptitude when your mind needs to think conceptually after studying the other two subjects from the beginning of the day.
There are three stages of banking exam. Stage 1 is prelims and stage 2 is mains followed by an interview for the post of PO. For prelims, I used to select good questions from each chapter in each section from books then used to solve these questions in 20 minutes from each subject.Solve a maximum number of quizzes as it will help you to increase your speed which is necessary to qualify prelims. In Reasoning, I used to solve puzzles rst to score good marks as one puzzle fetches you ve marks. After solving puzzles I used to do the rest of the questions. In English, please start developing reading habits as English needs reading skills. For this, you can practice Reading Comprehensions, read The Hindu newspaper; The Economic Times as reading newspapers not only improves your reading skills but also makes you aware of the nancial news and improves vocabulary.For Grammar, refer any basic English grammar book like Wren Martin, and start applying rules in di erent questions to memorize them. For mains, do not rely on short tricks in the quantitative aptitude section as the mains exam consists of questions that need a clear concept to solve them. The concepts are very important for doing the quant section of the mains exam. The logical reasoning section checks how much a candidate is logically sound and can think of di erent ways to solve a puzzle. For English, follow the same procedureas of prelims and take a calculative risk by using the method of elimination to solve the questions whose answers you don’t know. For GeneralAwareness, I used to watch the current a airs video of GauravGarg sir from Study IQ as it covers static awareness also in addition to the current a airs and banking awareness. What you can do is write down the news and revise it for a minimum of 10 days in the morning. Practice Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning sets by TarunJha sir if you are in search of the best quality questions for the mains exam.
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For Interview, dress up in formals. The nancial news of the current is very important for the interview. You can’t simply answer yes or no in an interview but you have to give your opinion, your thoughts about the questions asked by the interviewer. I used to watch The Hindu Analysis by PrashantMavani sir daily as it helps us in making opinions for di erent topics that can be discussed in the interview and which helps us in GD as well.
At last, I would say, prepare very well for GA as it is the deciding factor in qualifying the exam. Watch current a airs video by GauravGarg sir as many times as you can for memorizing them. If you managed to score 30 marks out of 40 then no one can stop you from taking the nal selection. Finally, I want to thank the Study IQ team for giving me a platform to express my viewsand thoughts. I am highly obliged to be here as this institution has given me a lot because the exams I cleared is due to GA and Study IQ has played an important role in making my GA so strong. Thanks to GauravGarg sir and PrashantMavani sir. Thanks to Study IQ.
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State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar Banking & favours Direct Bene t Transfers (DBT) for farmers instead of farm loan waivers. According to him, we are in the last leg of loan waivers in India. ”If the Central government and state government’s resources are combined, we can ensure income support Financial for farmers,” he said. The SBI chief was speaking on the sidelines of the bank’s event to present ‘Yono SBI 20 under Twenty’ Awards for young achievers under the age of 20 across elds Awareness including sport, performing arts, literature etc. “The bank will extend its digital banking platform YONO to assist farmers with inputs on climate, seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, information on prices through ‘YonoKrish’ that will be launched by April 2019”, said Mr Kumar at a press conference. Farmers can also apply for agricultural gold loans and open bank accounts digitally using the platform, which will serve as an online marketplace, he added.
RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is going to take important decisions in the meeting to be held in February 2019. For the rst time, RBI is getting its half-yearly balance According to Economists, the budget is in ationary in nature. sheet audited to determine the amount of interim As a result, there are chances of rate cuts. dividend it can give the central government. The government has registered a de cit of 3.4% of GDP in FY A concurrent audit of its accounts is done on a quarterly 2018-19 which was estimated to be at 3.3%. basis. For the next year (2019-20) also, the de cit is projected at 3.4%, July-December 2018 period audit is underway. Soon deviating from the path to bring down the de cit to 3% of GDP. Board of Directors will approve it. The CPI in ation rate fell from 4.9% in April-May 2018 to 2.2% in The RBI is going to move towards ½ yearly audit December, due to disin ation in the food segment. regularly, apart from an annual audit of its nances to Brent crude oil is now trading at around $62 a barrel, down from determine the pro ts. $84 a barrel in September 2018. The RBI has set up a committee headed by its former Oil prices have remained a great uncertainty for the government governor BimalJalan in December to rework the and the RBI. ECONOMIC CAPITAL FRAMEWORK of the central bank to Keeping in mind the above scenario, a rate cut at this point of time determine the level of surplus the RBI should hold. would be meaningless. Interim dividend to the Centre would be based on the old framework for now. According to recommendations made by a committee The RBI has decidedto o er an interim dividend of Rs 28,000 crore led by Y H Malegam in 2014, the RBI can transfer its entire to the centre, driving up its total transfer in the current scal to surplus to the government without allocation to its Rs 68,000 crore. reserve funds. This will be the highest surplus transfer by the central bank in at least a decade.
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Rabi sowing so far (up to February 1, 2019) has been lower than in the previous year, but the overall shortfall The Reserve Bank of India is likely to change its of 4 percent across various crops is expected to catch up monetary policy stance to ‘neutral’ from ‘calibrated as the season comes to a close. tightening’ and move closer to a rate cut in April as This is the rst policy review, post the appointment of in ation stays below the central bank’s 4 percent target. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and also the rst post the This rate cut will boost lending and lift growth. interim budget. Given that in ation has crashed, oil prices are much lower than The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled from April the peak, consumer durables and non-durables demand is slowing 2 to 4, 2019. and the global economy is slowing down, there is a de nite scope for a change in stance and even a rate cut.
The RBI has imposed penalties on seven lenders, including Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, The government is weighing the possibility of amalgamating three Indian Overseas Bank, HDFC, IDBI Bank, andKotak public sector banks- Punjab National Bank (PNB), Oriental Bank of Mahindra Bank for violation of various banking norms. Commerce (OBC) and Punjab&Sind Bank (P&SB). A penalty of Rs 1.5 crore has been imposed each on The headquarters of PNB and Punjab & Sind Bank are in Delhi that Allahabad Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and Indian Overseas of OBC is in Gurugram (Haryana). Bank, Rs 1 crore on Andhra Bank and Rs 20 Lakh ne each Upon amalgamation, the merged entity will have a combined on HDFC Bank, IDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank for business of over Rs16.5 lakh crore, deposits of Rs9.6 lakh crore and non-compliance with various directions issued by RBI on advances of close to Rs7 lakh crore, said the sources. monitoring of end-use of funds, exchange of information The net NPA ratio of PNB and OBC stood at 8.22% and 7.15%, with other banks, classi cation and reporting of frauds, respectively, as of December quarter, having improved from and on restructuring of accounts. 11.24% and 10.48% at the end of March 2018. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted various restrictions on OBC, which had been under the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework since October 2017. Loans written o by a clutch of 19 large and mid-sized public sector banks (PSBs) in December quarter of FY19 rose 34% to nearly Rs 41,000 crore while in quarter2 (Q2) of FY19 the written o loans stood at Rs 33,259 crore. Borrowers of written-o loans continue to be liable for repayment.
According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, India needs “fewer and megabanks” that are strong. Last month, the government had approved the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda and the new entity will come into force on April 1. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) consists of 6 members, three The government will infuse a capital of Rs 48,239 crore from the RBI and the remaining 3 are appointed by the government. in 12 public sector banks (PSBs) according to the Financial The MPC headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar. Das announced a reduction in policy repo rate by 25 basis points Reason: to equip PSBs to stay above PCA triggers and from 6.5 percent to 6.25 percent with immediate e ect. ensure the minimum regulatory capital for all PCA banks Consequently, Since the announcement of the recapitalisation plan in Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) is 6.0 percent October 2017, the government has infused Rs 1.89 trillion Marginal Standing Facility (MSR) rate is 6.5 percent into PSBs. Bank Rate (BR) is 6.5 percent Rs 5,000 crore has been put as a bu er for “any last- Economic Growth Rate is 7.4 percent for the next scal, up from minute contingency”. 7.2 percent estimated for the current scal by Central Statistics O ce Consumer Price In ation (also called retail in ation) is 2.4 percent (January-March period) and 3.2-3.4 percent (April-September)
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The credit market ischaracterized by information asymmetry which means the lenders don’t have much information about the nancial situation of the borrowers as most of the small businesses don’t keep their accounts maintained (bookkeeping), they don’t have a credit history. Public Credit Registry: It can act as a central repository of information on the credit data of individuals and businesses. Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) provides timely information on the credit history of large loan accounts— those greater than ₹5 crore and hence not covers small businesses under Rs 5 crore. Therefore, we need a system that wouldn’t be constrained by any minimum threshold in loan requirement and will keep the credit track of all businesses. There are also four private credit information companies, which o er value added services such as analytics and scoring to lenders and borrowers. Information like bank credit, loans from non-banking nancial companies, debentures, bonds, external commercial borrowings, utility payments, overdue utility payments, or overdue tax payments’ data from tax authorities, and so forth will be collected by PCR and will make available to lenders whenever needed. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das asked bankers to ensure that the bene ts of rate cuts are transmitting to people. The governor also said that these rate cuts are done with respect Addressing to a conference on the “Future of Indian to macroeconomic trends and if these would not reach people then Banking”, organised by NITI Aayog and EGROW the positive e ects calculated beforehand will not be seen in the (Economic GROwth and Welfare) Foundation, Vice- economy. Chairman of NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar said the country’s The meeting was attended by representatives of 10 public sector capital adequacy norms should be brought down to the banks and a few private and foreign banks, including Kotak Mahindra level of Basel norms or even below, as is the case with China. Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC Bank, and Citi India. As per RBI, the Indian banks have to maintain a Tier-1 capital that is 1% higher than the global norm (Basel requirements) but Mr Kumar says that this (1%) is a big Recently, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of RBI has reduced amount which can be used by banks in other productive ways. the Repo Rate from 6.5% to 6.25%. Economies of Scale can be achieved through two ways: MPC (headed by the governor of RBI) consists of 6 members. 3 capital infusion and mergers members from RBI and 3 are appointed by the government. The global rank of India’s largest bank (SBI) is 60th. Reasons behind rate cut: Low in ation Drop in domestic growth due to global trades and therefore this Bibek Debroy, head of Prime Minister’s economic advisory rate cut will make loan cheaper and hence consumption will increase panel said as India is majorly an informal economy, it lacks Controlled geopolitical tensions good data on economy and jobs. The current growth is due to more spending in infrastructure The reason behind this lack is by the government Very few individuals in India work under an employee- Private consumptions and investmentsaredropped. employee kind of relationship RBI’s report on thesectoral deployment of credit: Gross bank A large degree of self-employment credit to micro and small enterprises reduced by 0.9% year-on-year A large degree of informalisation in contracts in December. According to a report by think-tank Skoch Group, The MSME sector employs approximately 111 million people in headed by Chairman Sameer Kochhar, approximately 2 63 million units across the country, contributing 31.6% to gross crore jobs are created in the informal sector under the value added and 49.86% to the country’s exports. Modi government. Reasons to set up a Public Credit Registry (PCR):
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The government is planning to merge RRBs within the same state in order to strengthen their capital base and bring exibility between central government, state government, and sponsor bank under Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill passed in 2015. There are 56 RRBs functioning in our country with 14 sponsored by SBI.
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While over 6.3 crore taxpayers led returns in the rst ten months of the scal, the government is expecting 7.6 crore returns to be led by the end of FY19 compared with 6.9 crores in FY18. Taxation The government is expecting a 20 percent growth in direct tax collection at Rs 12 lakh crore for FY19.
Income tax assessments will be completely faceless without the taxpayer having to face the taxman in about two years and assesses will be provided pre- lled return forms as part of the government’s initiative to simplify procedures. CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra: 2.06 lakh income tax assessment cases were handled online by the department last year, as part of the nameless and faceless delivery of services to taxpayers. After the rollout of Centralised Processing Centre 2.0, the return processing will be nished in 24 hours and hence faster processing of return will increase better Start-ups have received notice from the Income-Tax Department compliance over ‘angel tax’. The government has decided to form an expert panel to look into the matter. The panel consists of Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan The government is considering raising the funding limit Pandey + DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal in a start-up that would be exempted from the so-called Trade) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek + Central Board of Direct Taxes angel tax to Rs 25 crore from the current Rs 10 crore. (CBDT) Chairman, Sushil Chandra. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) could recognise companies that are in operation up to 10 years as start-ups (currently, it is 7 years) if they ful ll criteria on innovation and turnover. According to a survey of 2,396 start-ups, 96% start-ups have received tax notices even if they have raised capital below Rs 10 crore.
Along with the members mentioned above, a committee of eminent experts drawn from institutions such as IIT and IIM will be constituted to take a decision on issues related to the recognition of start-ups. Section 56 of the Income Tax Act provides that where a closely held company issues its shares at a price which is more than its fair market value, the amount received in excess of the fair market value will be charged to tax as income from other sources. The exemption can be given after approval from the Inter- Ministerial Committee (IMC). Total 94 start-ups have been given exemption so far. Start-ups have to qualify on certain parameters such as the ₹25 crore turnover to get the I-T exemption During April 2018-January 2019 period income tax e-returns has grown by 37% (17% in April and 20% in January) as compared to the corresponding period in FY18. Page 7 STUDY IQ bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
The indirect tax department has made ‘recovery of arrears’ a The revenue department is going to set up a committee parameter in the annual performance appraisal for tax o cials as a of tax o cers to suggest steps to deal with bogus e-way move to bring down recoverable arrears that currently stands at bills. over Rs 26,000 crore. According to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Only Rs 3,500 crore has been recovered in the April-December Customs (CBIC), bogus e-way bills based on fake invoices period against the target of Rs 10,000 crore for 2018-19 scal. have been detected since April and the tax evasion involved Pranab K Das is the chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes. is about Rs 5,000 crore. O cials were asked to concentrate on recovery of clearly 1st April 2018: e-way was introduced for moving goods recoverable arrears, which are substantial (more than Rs 50 lakh) and worth over Rs 50,000 interstate where there are clear chances of recovery by March 2019. 15th April 2018: the bill rolled out for intrastate also The o cials feel that to shore up revenue and increase compliance measures have to be taken. CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) has constituteda ve-member Solution: integrating the e-way bill system with NHAI’s committee to examine the suggestions and issues on litigation FASTag mechanism beginning April to help track the management. movement of goods. The board also announced a 4-member panel to examine April-December 2018: central tax o cers have detected international good practices on tax litigation management. Both 3,626 cases of GST evasion, involving Rs 15,278.18 crore. committees will submit their report in a month.
Global technology giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Google may soon have to pay a ‘digital tax’ in India. CBDT has proposed a concept of “SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC PRESENCE” also known as digital permanent establishment to imposea tax at 30 to 40 percent rate based on the revenues and user base of such companies in India. Large Indian companies pay 30 percent corporate tax, while subsidiaries of foreign companies in India have to shell out 40 percent. The tax department levies 6 percent for the payment made by a resident rm to foreign e-commerce companies for online The government raised the cap of exemption from advertisement. Angel Tax to Rs 25 crore from the current Rs 10 crore. Last year, the department collected about Rs 800 crore through The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal this levy. Trade (DPIIT) has also risen the period from 7 years to 10 India may witness 635.8 million Internet users by 2021. years to recognise companies as start-ups. The annual turnover limit for the start-up tag has been raised four times to Rs 100 crore. These start-ups can’t invest in realty; loans and advances; shares and securities; a motor vehicle, aircraft, yacht or any other mode of transport, the actual cost of which exceeds Rs10 lakh and jewellery, etc. However, if a start-up’s usual business model involves i nvestment in jewellery (jewellery start-ups, for example), it can invest in it. As many as 16,116 start-ups are already registered with DPIIT and many more are now expected to get registered. Multiple raids were conducted by the Delhi IT department in Old Delhi’s business area and estimated money laundering of worth The eight members Group of Ministers (GoM) under Rs 20,000 crore. Maharashtra Finance Minister SudhirMungantiwar favoured Naya Bazar area: bogus billing of about Rs 18,000 crore was a uniform GST rate of either 18% or 28%. detected. Currently, a state-organised lottery attracts 12% GST whereas state-authorised lottery attracts 28% tax.
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GST rates slashed on properties under construction Start-ups are rushing to get themselves registered with the from 18% to 5% and on a ordable housing to 1% from Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) the current 8%. The new rates will be e ective from to take advantage of the incentives. April 1. As many as 85 start-ups got themselves registered on Wednesday The de nition of a ordable housing was rede ned by (20th February), much higher than the daily average of less than 10 linking to cost as well as carpet area. Now ats up to Rs in recent months. 45 lakh and with carpet area 60 sq m (earlier 30 sq m) in Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched Start-up India on metros or 90 sq m (earlier 60 sq m) in non-metros will January 16, 2016 and registration with DPIIT picked up the pace in come under a ordable housing. 2017.
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Amid the rising cost of cultivation, while the income support is too little, the government may also nd it more challenging to transfer the amount since most states do Agriculture not have any credible database of farmland holdings. According to NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, Centre has written to all the states to prepare a database of bene ciaries of small and marginal farmers in villages which will be displayed in the gram panchayat notice board. As per the Agriculture census 2015-16, small and marginal farmers constitute about 86% of the total number of farmers in the country, estimated at 14.57 crore.
Saddled with 90% unspent funds under Minimum Support Price ( MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP), a scheme conceived as NREGA Union Minister Arun Jaitley Sunday hinted that the Rs for 1.1 crore tribal families, cabinet secretary P K Sinha has ordered a 500 a month cash dole to small farmers may be increased detailed review of the scheme. in the future as the government’s resources grow. The scheme, which was launched by Congress-led UPA government He also said that states can top up this amount with in a 2013-14 nancial year, involves xing MSP for identi ed minor their own income support schemes as agriculture is a forest produces, which are collected by tribals in remote areas. state subject. These tribals then sell MFPs in the village haats. If the market prices The plan to give Rs 6,000 cash to 12 crore small and fall below MSP, the state government agencies move in to procure marginal farmers every year together with government the minor forest produce. schemes for giving them a house, subsidised food, free Five years after the scheme was introduced, the utilisation statistics healthcare and hospitalisation, free sanitation, electricity, remain poor. The Centre had earmarked Rs 1,172 crore for ve years roads, gas connections, twice the amount of credit at a till 2018-19. very cheap rate are all aimed at addressing farm distress. Ministry of tribal a airs statistics revealed that only 11% of the total outlay – about Rs 128 crore – has been spent. About Rs 360 crores released to state governments are lying unspent in the state co ers. The scheme was planned to double or treble the tribal’s income and reach 1.1 crore tribal households spread across 307 tribal- dominated districts in 27 states. On April 14 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced from Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district setting up of Van DhanVikas Kendra or value addition centres. Seeing the poor utilisation of funds, the cabinet secretary has ordered a review. For the scheme, a budget outlay of Rs 75,000 crore has been provided for 2019-20 and Rs 20,000 crore for December-March this scal. Experts say this amount (Rs 2,000 per hectare) will barely cover .the per-hectare expanses on pesticides in many states.
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The government is going to amend Section 79 of the Industry Information Technology Act, 2000. According to Activists and Industry players, current laws are enough to deal with the problems.The amendments proposed will curb internet freedom and privacy while increasing compliance for intermediaries. The government wants social media platforms to comply with its direction on providing information and assistance within 72 hours of a request made with regard to the origin of any content deemed unlawful and remove it and to trace the originator of that content. “This requirement would not be applicable to telecom companies as the same may not be practically possible to implement as in case of information that ows through a series of intermediaries, each intermediary would only be able to assist to the extent of the origin of the information at their end” COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India). US-INDIA Business Council said absolute traceability and attribution is not technically feasible in all instances. The Centre’s outlay for rubber has shrunk by 18% from the current scal. This has a ected people related to rubber production. The north-eastern state Tripura enjoys a rm base in rubberwood production for building material and furniture. It accounts for only 9.4% rubber production, but it is India’s second largest rubber producing state after Kerala. In the north-east region, it accounts for 58% of the rubber production. About 4.5 lakh hectare of land in Tripura is suitable for rubber cultivation. This would add to the country’s current total area of approximately 6 lakh hectares. At 4,49,088 tonne, imports are up by 35% for the 9-month period till December 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, as per Rubber Board data. In the same period, rubber production at 4, 59 of the BSE-500 stocks slumped to 52- week (1 year) 79,000 tonnes, had logged 8.5% decline. lows. Reasons: Weak corporate earnings for the December 2018 quarter and the uncertain environment ahead of the general India is home to some of the most polluted cities in the world. elections are prompting investors to take risk o the table. Regulations and market sentiment are building up against the use While revenues have risen reasonably well, higher of fossil fuels. That’s why Mahindra and Maruti are crafting a plan to expenses reduced the pro t margins leaving the growth reduce its dependence on Diesel cars. in net pro ts very small. Stringent government rules, especially the move towards stricter Demands of consumer goods are down, cash ows are Bharat Stage-VI emission norms from 1 April 2020, are also making under pressure and Sales of passenger vehicles fell for the automakers rethink their strategies. third straight month in January.
State-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) organised the 6th round of wind power auction which discovered the minimum bit at Rs 2.82/unit, the highest since February last year when the price bottomed out at Rs 2.44/unit. This hike is not good as this will result in the expensive production of electricity. Reasons: Lack of favourable locations and land availability. STUDY IQ Page 11 bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
A similar rise in solar tari s was also seen. It reached the lowest RBI denied to provide any information cited an exemption level of Rs 2.44/unit in 2017, it has since gone up to Rs 2.71 in July clause from the Right to Information (RTI) Act. 2018, leading to the cancellation of the bids. The petitioner told information commissioner Suresh Chandra that the information is not exempted under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act and later RBI also accepted that the denial to provide information was wrong.
The department of telecommunications is now considering either selling the assets or leasing out the 2.5 lakh kilometre bre laid by the government under the BharatNet project, on a long-term basis to private telcos. The telecom commission was also deliberated to revive BSNL and MTNL but no decision was taken. Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) bribed $3.64 million Indian government o cials on behalf of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. to secure permits, ranging from environmental clearance to power, at the US DoT has said it has no plans to block the users who are Company’s campuses in Chennai and Pune, a person familiar with sending obscene messages through WhatsApp. the development said. The news was based on a DoT letter dated February 19 to telecom service providers by Ashish Joshi controller communications, but now DoT o cials are saying that the o cer has no authority to issue such a letter and action is Brent crude oil brie y reached 2019 highs above $65 per barrel. likely to be taken against him. Reasons: The announcement of a higher-than-expected cut by Saudi Arabia The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) along with allies led by Russia made voluntary production cuts. US crude production rose by more than 2 million bpd last year, to 11.9 million bpd, making the United States the world’s biggest oil producer.
Indian Railways has created history by converting a diesel locomotive into an electric locomotive for the rst time in the world. This locomotive has been agged o by PM Narendra Modi in Varanasi. This conversion of diesel locomotive into electric locomotive has been done by the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi. The entire project is an Indian R&D innovation for the entire world Airports Authority of India (AAI) put bids for the privatisation of ve airports. Despite having a debt of Rs 82,810 crore the Adani group won all ve for a period of 50 years under the The Supreme Court set aside the National Green Tribunal (NGT) public-private partnership model. decision to reopen the Sterlite Copper Plant at Thoothukudi. For every domestic and international passenger, the The plant had been ordered to be closed by the Tamil Nadu developer (Adani group) will pay per passenger fee (PPF) government due to environmental pollution. to the state-owned AAI. Earlier in 2006, Delhi and Mumbai airports were also privatised but they shared a percentage of gross revenue Central Information Commission (CIC) has pulled up the RBI for with AAI unlike per passenger fee in this case. not handling the RTI applications properly. Activist VenkateshNayak had sought records of all meetings of the RBI central board of directors along with the papers, presentations or other documents placed before it, which led to the decision of demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016.
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Telecom secretary ArunaSundararajan said India has entered an Only eight companies worldwide have capabilities to elite club of nations with CHIPSET LEVEL innovation by a Bengaluru- design semiconductor chips. based semiconductor rm Signalchip that launched a dual carrier With this innovation,India has become arch-rival to US 4G/LTE and 5G NR standards-based modem that can work on up to majors such as Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom. 6GHz frequency rangeafter eight-year long research and development India can manage to bring it into Intellectual Property (R&D) activities in multiple complex domains Rights (IPR).
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Infrastructure
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has allowed state-owned power transmission rm Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) to o er its electricity towers to telecom companies. PGCIL will bear the capital expenditure on the infrastructure changes to add telecom set up (about Rs 20 lakh/location). The Department of Telecom will seek views of telecom regulator Revenue from the business would be shared on50:50 TRAI on the allocation of spectrum worth Rs 65,000 crore to Indian basis. Railways without auction. As per estimates, In 2012, the Supreme Court has ruled that natural resources Annual revenue: between Rs 68 crore and Rs 324 crore should be handed via auction route only. Monthly rentals: between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 Indian Railways has asked for 10 MHz of spectrum in 700 MHz per month bands for setting up public safety and security service. Currently, more than 4 lakh telecom towers are in use by various operators across the country. NTPC has threatened to cut supplies to the electricity distribution Today if we go to an airport we have to log in each companies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana if the bills time and in some cases, we have to pay unless it is amounting to Rs 4,138 crore are not cleared which are pending for bundled with our service provider. more than 60 days now. The three states could lose 3,470 MW of This (interoperability) will mean that we can access it power supply from NTPC’s Ramagundam, Simhadri, Talcher, and anywhere, any Wi-Fi provided by any service provider Kudgi power plants. and we need to pay once, log in once and use anywhere. The government is considering a proposal to enable interoperability for the public Wi-Fi network. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) granted 3.7 lakh Wi-Fi hotspots have been deployed by the seven more days to NCLT to decide over the Rs 42,000 crore industry – against the stated commitment of rolling out resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal for Essar Steel. one million Wi-Fi hotspots by December 2019. Resolution of the debt-laden Essar Steel was among the rst large The MHA (Ministry of Home A airs) has to give the nal cases to be referred under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code security clearance. (IBC) but has been delayed beyond 270-day permitted under the law. ‘
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is in the process of evolving a ‘Best Fit Plan’. The regulator is working on a framework where it will direct operators to ensure that the packages being o ered to their subscribers under the ‘Best Fit Plan’ should not exceed their old cable TV bills. The ‘Best Fit Plan’ is to be designed on consumers’ usage patterns and language spoken. It should preferably be a blended combination of various genres. Page 14 STUDY IQ The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is in the process of evolving a ‘Best Fit Plan’. The regulator is working on a framework where it will direct operators to ensure that the packages being o ered to their subscribers under the ‘Best Fit Plan’ should not exceed their old cable TV bills. The ‘Best Fit Plan’ is to be designed on consumers’ usage patterns and language spoken. It should preferably be a blended combination of various genres.
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To promote make in India, the Ministry of Shipping has revised the guidelines for chartering of ships by providing the Right of First * Refusal (RoFR) to ships built in India. Power Minister R K Singh has asked the states to supply RoFR:Whenever a tendering process is undertaken to charter a 24*7 power to all households starting from April 1 as per vessel then the bidder o ering a ship built in India will be given 24*7 agreements signed by discoms with the Centre. priority. This will raise the demand for such vessels. The rms involved in load shedding will be penalised. A policy in this regard will be launched by ShriNitin Gadkari in They can exempt supplying round the clock electricity Mumbai during the inauguration of the two days Regional Maritime to agricultural consumers (in agricultural elds) due to Safety Conference which is organized bythe National Maritime lack of adequate metering and can supply power for 8-10 Foundation (NMF) in India for the rst time in coordination with the hours a day. This will also prevent the misuse of Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of External A airs. groundwater reserves. The government is also providing long term subsidy under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (2016-26) to promote shipbuilding in India.
Domestic air tra c grows at 9.1% in January 2019. This is the slowest in four years. For the last 50 months, it was growing at a double-digit rate. Reasons behind the drop in air tra c: High fares: 15-20% higher as compared to the previous year Slower capacity addition Flight cancellations
Indian Railways with France’s major electric locomotive manufacturer Alstom has failed to clear a trial conducted by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) as oscillation peaks beyond acceptable limits have been observed for a speed of even 70 km/h and above. This is a joint venture between the two with the company having 74% of the equity and Indian Railways 26%. Earlier, on April 10, 2018 PM Narendra Modi agged o the newlocomotivesfrom Alstom India’s Madhepura facility in Bihar. In 2015, the railways had signed €3.5 billion (Rs 28,000 crore) deal with Alstom which includes the supply of 800 electric double- section locomotives each with 12,000 Hp. About 90% of the components for the project (in Madhepura) are sourced locally. Page 15 STUDY IQ bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
There is an accusation on Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, that it is abusing its popular Android mobile operating s ystem to block its rivals. External Sector Google had faced a ne of €4.34 billion by anti-trust regulators in 2011 for forcing manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser, together with its Google Play app store on Android devices.
Reliance Communication Ltd (RCom) Chairman Anil Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has decided to opt for Ambani appeared before the Supreme Court in connection insolvency proceedings following its failure to sell its assets to bring with a case against Ambani for allegedly not clearing dues some relief to the cash strapped company. It even failed to sell the to the tune of Rs 550 crore led by Ericsson India. spectrum to MukeshAmbani’sJio. On October 23 last year, the top court had asked RCom “RCom board of directors decides upon implementation of debt to clear the dues by December 15, 2018, saying that delayed resolution plans through the NCLT framework,” the company said in payment would attract the interest of 12 percent per a statement. annum. Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson had led the rst petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to invoke % insolvency proceedings against RCom. It is estimated that RCom is reeling under a debt of over Rs 46,000 Inbound equity investments dropped down by 7% in crore. the April-December period of FY19. The company had chalked out plans to sell assets for about Rs The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal 25,000 crore and use it for clearing debt of around 40 lenders. Trade (DPIIT) shows that equity in ows reduced to $33.5 billion from $36 billion in the same period of the previous year. According to the 2018 AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Con dence Index, India’s position dropped 3 places in 2018 and for the rst time since 2015, India is not in the top 10 list. The service sector remained the largest recipient of the FDI. RBI gures show that inward FDI grew by just 3% in 2017-18 as compared to 25% in 2014-15. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows Global FDI in 2018 fell by 19%. South East Asia saw an increase in FDI ows of 11% to $ SEZs and EoUs are export-oriented units outside the ambit of 145 billion. domestic customs laws. The government has allowed export of biofuels from special economic zones (SEZs) and export-oriented units (EoUs) with certain conditions. In August 2018, the government imposed restrictions on the export of biofuels for nonfuel purposes. Page 16 STUDY IQ SEZs and EoUs are export-oriented units outside the ambit of domestic customs laws. The government has allowed export of biofuels from special economic zones (SEZs) and export-oriented units (EoUs) with certain conditions. In August 2018, the government imposed restrictions on the export of biofuels for nonfuel purposes.
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Fortum India, a subsidiary of Finnish clean energy company FortumOyj, and Clean Motion, the manufacturer International Affairs of e-rickshaws, showcased a battery-swapping project for light EVs. The project comprises of 90 NMC batteries of 1.5kWh, one swapping station with 20 batteries and 30 e-rickshaws that have been modi ed for swapping. The process of swapping and driving, called Change & Drive, takes 2-5 minutes. The battery weighs 13kg ¡ Saudi Arabia has shown its interest in the Chinese market with a deal to build a $10 billion re ning and petrochemicals complex. Saudi Arabia will supply 70% of the crude oil needed and a 3 lakh barrel a day will be re ned
Started in 2014, the e-Residency programme o ers a government- issued digital identity that provides the applicant access to e-services in Estonia, including the setting up of companies. The e-resident gets a smart card that can be used to sign documents. “India stands at ninth position in terms of countries from which we By 2038 Germany will stop producing power from coal have e-residents out of 167 countries. China is number 8, a little and will boost the use of natural gas (cleanest fossil fuel) ahead of India but the di erence is small,” RihoKruuv, Ambassador and renewable energy. of the Republic of Estonia. India needs to leverage coal reserves to adapt proven MukeshAmbani has set up a research centre in Estonia for Reliance technologies to increase thermal e ciency in power Jio. generation. The new Telangana plant of NTPC, India’s largest power producer, uses ultra-supercritical technology, and our upcoming Chhattisgarh plant is to incorporate advanced ultra-supercritical systems. A conventional sub-critical power plant has a thermal e ciency of barely 30% whereas supercritical and ultra- supercritical plants have e ciency levels of 45% or higher, which means generating 50% more power using the same amount of coal. India is seeking coal gasi cation technology from the US. India needs to scrap old 210MW and 500MW units and install 800MW units.
New European Union copyright rules: Online platforms will be required to compensate publishers and creators for the content that appears on their websites. Google and Facebook will have to pay more money to music producers and publishers for the display of their songs, video and news articles.
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The Japanese automakers (mostly focuses on petro- electric hybrids) have been encouraged by the Union India and government’s assurance that it will not di erentiate between hybrid and electric vehicles while o ering nancial incentives to makers of eco-friendly vehicles. Hybrid vehicles are more fuel-e cient than those that the World run on petrol and diesel. As part of its aim to curb rampant pollution in cities, the government plans to promote the local manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries that can be used for both hybrid and electric vehicles.
Russian Railways Logistics Joint Stock Company (RZD) and Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), the largest India is going to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. rail container transport operator in India, signed the MoU Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Morocco. India has for providing logistics services on INTSC (International signed 40 pacts over the past two years across sectors, including North-South Transport Corridor). defence, counter-terrorism, education and investments with INSTC is the shortest multimodal transportation route Morocco. linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf via Iran to India will host Algerian foreign minister AbdelkaderMessahel. Russia and Europe. Algeria has been against the strong Organisation of Islamic Conference position on Kashmir and has been irked by ISI’s support ( ) for the Algerian insurgent group – Islamic Salvation Front. In addition, India and Muslim-majority North African nations along Morgan Stanley is set to enter the Indian warehousing with Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon are preparing to host a mega space through a Rs 400-crore investment via which it will business meet in Tunis in February. take 85-90% stake in a platform to be jointly operated North Africa allows India entry into the Mediterranean region with KSH Group. besides Africa due to its geographical proximity and a free-trade The investment is likely to be done from the Morgan agreement. Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu may Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF). represent India at the meeting.
Suzuki Motor Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have started developing strong or full hybrid cars for India and are expected to introduce them by the end of 2021. Page 18 STUDY IQ bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu chaired the meeting on 14th February. US (India’s second-largest trade partner) commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, who could not attend the India-US Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum, participated via teleconference. Both nations pledged to further boost bilateral trade and investments. US rms’ concerns on the new e-commerce policy, retaliatory tari s imposed by both nations & India’s pledge to reduce trade imbalance through greater crude imports were the main topics. For India, greater access to the American market in food, farm, engineering goods, auto and auto parts segments hold promise in Saudi Aramco, the World’s largest oil exporter, said it the long term (over ve years). was in talks with MukeshAmbani led-Reliance Industries The US sees good prospects for its companies in Indian civil (RIL) and other companies to invest in India’s aviation, oil and gas, education service and agriculture segments. petrochemical and oil re nery sectors. It is particularly interested in India removing price cap on This investment is an addition to the $44 billion bioresorbable stents. Ratnagiri Re nery in Maharashtra which is a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and UAE’s Adnoc with Indian Oil Marketing Companies (IOM) IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL. India has stripped Pakistan of the most favoured nation (MFN) This re nery will be operationalised by 2025. status in trade, granted by India, unilaterally (one-sided i.e. by India As part of Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development to Pakistan not by Pakistan to India), in 1996. The decision was taken and Logistics Program (NIDLP) under its 2030 vision by Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister document, Saudi Arabia is to invest $453 billion. Narendra Modi. The program presents opportunities in mining, Most Favoured Nation status is providing equal opportunity to all industry, logistics, and energy. trading partners under the WTO. India’s oil demand is expected to increase from 4.8 The government is also considering punitive trade measures such million barrels a day to 8.2 million barrels a day by 2040. as a sharp hike in customs duties or a ban on goods imported from India is going to be the second largest economy by Pakistan and curbs on ports from which trade with the neighbour 2050, surpassing the United States and will represent can be undertaken. 15% of the Global Domestic Product. Pakistan hasn’t granted the MFN status to India and continues to India buys nearly 8, 00,000 barrels a day from Saudi trade with New Delhi with a negative list of 1,209 products. Arabia and its per capita petrochemical consumption is Negative List: Pakistan will not import from India the products 9kg currently, compared to 109kg of that of the US. mentioned in this list which is currently 1,209 in numbers. According to Article 21 of the WTO, it is not obligatory for any country to inform the WTO about the decision if it has been taken The Commerce Ministry o cials and the US trade for security reasons. Reprehensive (USTR) are in the process of nalising a trade India’s merchandise exports to Pakistan touched $1.41 billion from package to boost bilateral trade. April to November 2018, constituting just 0.6% of the country’s total Generalized System of Preferences: It is a US trade exports. program under which up to 4,800 products by 129 India’s imports from Pakistan stood at $381 million, making up for developing countries are provided a duty-free entry in 0.1% of overall purchases from overseas. Pakistan’s purchases from the US. India stood at 3% in 2017-18. India wants: US to exempt certain steel and aluminium products from the high duty imposed by the US India will push to blacklist Pakistan over terrorism funding at the Resumption of some goods under their GSP Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting taking place on Greater market access to its (India’s) products from February 17- 22 in Paris. sectors like agriculture, automobile, auto components, Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list in June 2018 and put on and engineering notice to be blacklisted by October 2019 if it did not curb money US wants: laundering and terror nancing. Greater market access to its products like agricultural goods, dairy products, medical devices, IT, and communication items India’s exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at USD 47.9 billion, while imports were USD 26.7 billion. Page 19 STUDY IQ bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
This comes as a protest against the decision on global rules taken on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos which was supported by 76 mostly developed ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations nations and supported by the EU and the US. 10 member countries with capitals are mentioned below: WTO rules come into e ect for all 164 members and need to be rati ed by each but for the rst time; a major Country Capital Brunei Darussalam Bandar Seri Begawan decision has been taken without complete consensus Cambodia Phnom Penh among member nations. Indonesia Jakarta The developed member nations of the WTO are Lao PDR Vientiane demanding to permanently scrap the custom duties on Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Myanmar Nay Pyi Taw electronic transmissions. Philippines Manila China also supported the deal and proposed to create Singapore Singapore an Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) - an e-commerce Thailand Bangkok Vietnam Ha Noi trade portal for small enterprises.
As per C R Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, there are huge opportunities for ASEAN countries to invest in India in areas such as medical devices, shing, and ship-building. Companies from India and ASEAN can also form joint ventures and set up entities to start manufacturing here, he said. In recently conducted 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit 2019 in New Delhi MrChaudhary said India has relaxed several laws and regulations under its Make in India initiative to attract investments. The bilateral trade between the regions has increased to USD 82.33 billion in 2017-18 from USD 21 billion in 2005-06. United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) member countries condemned the Pulwama attack including China. The terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Russia and Sri Lanka are demanding pest-free area certi cates headed by MasoodAzhar has claimed the responsibility from India. of the attack. The government of Russia has not issued any such noti cation. China, using its veto power (since China is a permanent But, the containers from India are being stopped by Russia’s customs member of the UNSC so having certain powers), has so far department, stating that a pest-free area certi cate is required. blocked the attempts to declare MasoodAzhar as a global Russia is among the largest importers of grapes. Last year, grape terrorist as it is a close ally of Pakistan. exports grew 18.19% and Russia contributed 15% to the country’s China needs Pakistan support in the Belt and Road exports of the fruit. Initiative, aimed at improving connectivity and facilitating India’s export of grapes increased by 11% (from 2 lakh tonne to trade with regional countries. 2.15 lakh tonne) in volume for April 2018-March 2019. China’s trade with India in the scal year 2018 rose 36% from FY14 to almost $90 billion but India’s trade de cit has doubled from $36 billion to $63 billion over the same period. Five permanent members of the UNSC are China, France, Russia, UK, and US. The non-permanent members elected for 2 years are Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Indonesia, Kuwait, Peru, Poland, and South Africa.
US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) Chief Scott Gottlieb comes out in support of generics manufacturers in India and said the medicines made by Indian drug India will not join the talks on e-commerce at the World Trade makers are good in quality respite from the poor perception Organization (WTO). of generics as well as Indian-made drugs.
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Generics account for 90% of the US drug market – up from 33% Example: the parent company in India would avail the three decades ago. services of this subsidiary at an exorbitant rate. For example, The FDA chief said the regulator’s rigorous standards and say a parent company, ABC India Ltd., sets up a subsidiary inspections apply equally to both generic and branded drugs — ABC Salts in the Cayman Islands. Now, the parent company whether the medicines are being manufactured in Shandong, buys salt, to be used in their employees’ canteen, from this India, or in Indiana, USA. subsidiary company at an exorbitant rate. During this In FY2017-18, the FDA tested 323 products from around the world transaction, ABC India Inc's pro t is reduced. Thus, ABC — including more than 100 from India – to determine if foreign India will pay lower taxes. This erodes the tax base in India. manufacturers had a higher incidence of product failure and all the This is called [tax] base erosion.Meanwhile, ABC Salts has samples met the US market quality standards using testing standards gained more pro ts. This is known as pro t shifting. But, set by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). due to the very liberal tax structure, the subsidiary will pay a lesser tax in the Cayman Islands. GAAR: It is a tool for checking aggressive tax planning Eight Indian airports reopened after about four hours on the especially that transaction or business arrangement which advice of the Indian Air Force (IAF) after shutting down temporarily is/are entered into with the objective of avoiding tax. It whereas Pakistan closed its air space as border hostilities escalated. has been introduced in India because of the Vodafone Eight airports closed include Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, case ruling in favour of this company by the Supreme Court. Pathankot, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Dharamshalawith Chandigarh Example: “A” makes a company XYZ to sell product C. being the rst to reopen followed by the others. The company B pays 35% tax, but if “A” himself sold the A Jet Airways plane ying between Delhi and Dubai was allowed products he would pay 40% tax. “A” has formed the to enter Pakistani airspace but was asked to leave midway, forcing it company only to save 5% tax. to turn back.
The cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade took place between J&K and PoK amid the Indo-Pak tension with 50 goods trucks crossing the LoC via Chakan-da-Bagh. The trade happens for four days a week. 34 Indian goods trucks went to PoK, 16 trucks arrived here from the other side.
Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, and Ireland are emerging as the leading gateways for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) registering in India with as many as 241, or more than one-third out of the 650 FPI’s. FPI has taken a deep dent after India amendedits tax treaties with Mauritius and Singapore. The introduction of laws such as the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and Base Erosion Pro t Shift (BEPS) has also made it di cult for the funds to incorporate themselves in jurisdictions where they don’t have any business establishments. India is planning to release movies of some popular BEPS: it refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and stars likeRaj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, HemaMalini, mismatches in tax rules to arti cially shift pro ts to low or no-tax and Shah Rukh Khan to promote Indian lms in less- locations. explored markets such as the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Ukraine.
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Indian cinema is largest after Hollywood and known for its lively Audio-visual services are one of the 12 champion service and emotional content. sectors identi ed by the Department of Commerce to take India’s share in global services exports to 4.2% by 2022 from 3.3% in 2015.
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Currently, banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSCs are regulated by multiple regulators — the RBI (Reserve Bank of India), SEBI (Securities and Exchange Polity & Governance Board of India) and IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) respectively and this would provide inter-regulatory coordination. Regulatory bodies including RBI, SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) would have one nominee as its member, while the Finance Ministry will have the right to nominate two o cials in the Authority. Two members could also be appointed by the central government on the recommendation of the selection committee. "The Chairperson and a member shall hold o ces for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon his o ce and shall be eligible for reappointment," the bill said. An IFSC enables to bring back to India the nancial services and transactions that are currently carried out in o shore nancial centers by Indian corporate entities and The Election Commission of India (EC) met senior o cials of the overseas branches or subsidiaries of nancial institutions railways, customs and excise, transport departments and the police, (FIs). and constituted a high-level monitoring panel to ensure that there are no illegal cash transactions during campaigning. EC o cials met their peers in the income tax (I-T) department and Approved Rs 13,411-crore metro rail project for Patna. asked them to monitor the election expenditure of each candidate. It will be completed over the next ve years and will have If a donation is above Rs 2,000 in cash, the donor might face scrutiny. two corridors — Danapur to Mithapur (26.94 km) and In the elections of 2014, the EC had announced that it seized Rs Patna station to new ISBT (14.45 km). 300 crore. The highest amount, Rs 153 crore, was seized in Andhra Raw jute minimum support price (MSP) hiked by 6.8%. Pradesh, followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra. (i.e. Rs 250/quintal). The MSP for 2019-20 season is now Rs 3,950/quintal. The Jute Corporation of India would continue to be the nodal agency to ensure farmers get Union Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha told that the MSP. the proposal of setting up an insurance company by the Department Cabinet gave its nod for private participation in the of Post which will deal in two products (Postal Life Insurance and strategic disinvestment of state-run Engineering Projects. Rural Postal Life Insurance) has been moved to the Cabinet. Earlier, only PSUs were permitted to buy the Centre’s MrSinha also said that the target to set up Passport Seva Kendra in stake in the company. all LokSabha constituencies will be achieved by the end of February. Approved a three-year extension of the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Up-gradation Scheme for MSMEs with a total outlay of 2,900 crores. The scheme has been approved for continuation beyond the 12th ve-year Plan for three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20. Special provisions have been made in the scheme to promote entrepreneurship for SC/STs, women, hill states (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand), island territories (Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep) The government introduced a Bill to set up a uni ed authority for and the aspirational districts/ LWE (Left-wing extremism) regulating all nancial services in international nancial services districts. The objective of the scheme is to facilitate centres (IFSCs) in the country. technology up-gradation in MSEs by providing a capital The International Financial Services Center Authority Bill, 2019 subsidy of 15 percent (up to Rs 1 crore) in the speci ed mandates that the transaction of nancial services in the IFCS shall 51 sub-sectors/products approved. be governed by an Authority headed by a Chairman.
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Indian parliamentary panel is summoning Jack Dorsey to appear WhatsApp has put-in a spam detection technology to before it later this month. spot accounts engaged in abnormal activities. In fact, over Mr Dorsey did not attend a hearing on 11th Feb. the last three months, it has blocked around 2 million Anurag Thakur, chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Information accounts per month globally. Technology (IT) said that if he does not appear then it will be taken as a breach of parliamentary privilege. O cials of India’s technology ministry and Twitter had been The government has released draft e-commerce policy invited to the meeting to discuss safeguarding citizens’ rights on that has been created keeping in mind India’s national social media and online news platforms. interest and employment generation with the aim of keeping our citizens’ data safe. The document also proposes granting the ‘infrastructure status’ to data storage devices such as data centres, server rms, towers, tower stations, equipment, optical wires, signal transceivers, and antennae. This will ensure lower borrowing rates and easy access to bank nance and tax concessions.
Govt eases e-visa regime Introduced in September 2014 with 46 countries e-Tourist Visa has now been made applicable for 166 countries, a statement from the tourism ministry said. Recently, the government has made a series of amendments in the e-visa regime, liberalizing it further and making it more tourists friendly.
Govt Disinvestment Proceeds NITI Aayog is soon to come out with a policy to promote The government’s disinvestment proceeds have touched Rs 53,558 alternative use of crop residue which is burned in the crore so far out of the target of Rs 80,000 crore in the current scal elds despite a ban in some states to curb air pollution. ending March 2019. The advisory body has invited research institutions to For the next scal, the target has been set at Rs 90,000 crore. conduct a study on mass production of manure/fertiliser Rs 10,000 crore came in from Bharat-22 ETF and, another Rs 5,379 from agricultural biomass. crore from the sale of Speci ed Undertaking of Unit Trust of India The agricultural straw can be used as a food for cattle (SUUTI) stake in Axis Bank. (eg. goat) or for making cardboard. WhatsApp abuse ( ) The government is in talks with WhatsApp regarding checking of hate messages, fake news, etc, by tracing their origin. Now the government has moved to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to block numbers through which hate messages originate. If anybody receives objectionable, obscene messages on their WhatsApp, all they have to do is to take its screenshot and mail it at [email protected] along with the mobile number from which it came. The DoT will then send the number to the telecom service provider asking it to block it. This can be done as the telcos are licensed operators and their licence conditions mandate that their network will not carry objectionable, obscene, unauthorised content. The numbers which are not connected to any mobile network but towi can also be blocked since wi connections are provided by either telcos or internet service providers.
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ED attaches assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act Naik has been under investigation since 2016 after the (PMLA) to deprive the accused of utilising their ill-gotten wealth. central government banned his Islamic Research The ED, which registered a fresh case against Saeed on January 19, Foundation for ve years over speeches that allegedly was already pursuing one against him and others on the basis of a promoted hate. rst information report (FIR) registered by the NIA in June 2017. The endeavour is to close the tap of terror funding by attaching all the properties which have been acquired from the proceeds of crime.
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Appointments & Resignations
R Venkataramanan, the managing trustee of the Tata Trusts, a string of non-pro ts that own 66 percent of the diversi ed Tata Sons, has resigned. Ratan Tata’s half-brother Noel Tata has been appointed as a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the second largest among the dozen-odd charities that make up the Tata Trusts.
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Government Schemes
In the 6th meeting of the Mission Steering Group of the National Health Mission in New Delhi, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said that 8,000 Health and Wellness Centres have become operational in 35 States and Union Territories. The government has set a target to setup nearly 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres by 2022.
This scheme was launched by the government to provide clean cooking fuel to every household in the Over 10 lakh poor have availed free treatment under the Ayushman country and this has turned India into the world’s 2nd Bharat Yojana since its launch and the reduction in the cost of largest LPG consumer of LPG in the world at 22.5 million cardiac stents has led to an annual saving of Rs 4,600 crore for the tonnes, whose demand is projected to rise 34% by 2025. poor and middle class. Active LPG consumers have grown at a compounded Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan AushadhiPariyojana, 4,900 Jan annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent – from 14.8 Aushadhi centres have already been opened in more than 600 crores in 2014-15 to 22.4 crore in 2017-18. districts where more than 700 di erent medicines are being Under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) of dispensed at low cost. providing free cooking gas (LPG) connection to poor, The government has provided the facility of dialysis-free of cost to over 6.31 crore connections have been provided since the those su ering from kidney diseases which have resulted in a saving launch of the scheme on May 1, 2016. of more than Rs 2,000 per session for them. Before March 31, 2020, LPG connections will be provided “In addition, for a premium of just one rupee a month under to 8 crore households under PMUY where LPG connection ‘Pradhan Mantri SurakshaBima Yojana’ and 90 paise a day under is issued in the name of the women member of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’, as many as 21 crore poor household. brothers and sisters have been provided with insurance coverage,” Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched in May Kovind said. 2016 with the objective of providing free LPG connections In the event of an untoward incident, an assistance of Rs 2 lakh is to 5 crore women belonging to poor households over a made available to them under both the schemes, he said. period of three years. To tackle the challenge of malnutrition among poor women and children, he said the government has launched the National Nutrition Mission for those su ering from malnutrition and to FM introduced a bill in LokSabha seeking to protect eliminate the factors responsible for it. gullible investors from ponzi schemes. Mission Indradhanush has been launched by the government to The House will take up the Banning of Unregulated provide immunisation facilities to children and pregnant women Deposit Schemes Bill for discussion and passage. living in remote and tribal areas. The bill will e ectively tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking activities, and prevent such schemes from duping the poor and gullible people of their hard earned savings.
Page 27 STUDY IQ FM introduced a bill in LokSabha seeking to protect gullible investors from ponzi schemes. The House will take up the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill for discussion and passage. The bill will e ectively tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking activities, and prevent such schemes from duping the poor and gullible people of their hard earned savings.
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The government had put a hold on the proposal of imposing a cess on conventional vehicles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally launch the The government aims to have around 1000 charging implementation of the PM-KISAN scheme on 24th February. stations initially. The rst instalment of Rs 2,000 will be released on the same day. 2nd instalment will be given on April 1, immediately after all bene ciaries get the rst payment by March 31. About 5 million farmers are expected to be paid on the rst day. The Centre is set to relaunch theMinimum Support The Centre had asked states to upload the list of bene ciaries by Price (MSP) scheme for Minor Forest Produce (MFP). February 25. The beginning will be made from 39 aspirational districts. “No payment would be made without Aadhaar card or Aadhaar 90% of the funds under this scheme have remained enrolment to ensure there is no duplication in payment,” the unutilised as the scheme was earlier launched in a way o cial said. that the state government will purchase MFP from tribals Uttarakhand leads states in uploading farmer data. if the price fell below the MSP but this doesn’t happen. ( )
The Cabinet Committee on Economic A airs has approved the The government is set to transfer Rs 2,000 each to at l KUSUM scheme with an outlay of Rs 34,422 crore. east 10 million farmers by Friday and the next transfer to KUSUM aims to set up: another 1 crore is to happen by March 1. 10,000 MW of grid-connected solar power plants on farmlands The government is targeting to transfer money to all Install 17.5 lakh stand-alone solar pumps 120 million farmers by March 31. Connect 10 lakh existing agriculture pumps with solar power Approximately 37.1 million farmers have been registered Solar generation units would be installed in barren lands owned till date. by farmers and state-owned discoms would buy power from these According to the chief executive of PM-KISAN scheme installations. VivekAgrawal,after the second round of fund transfer, the The central government would pay 40 paise to discoms for every government will make payments on a regular basis as the unit of power they buy for ve years. data will be validated by the Public Financial Management For buying the stand-alone solar pumps and solarising existing System (PFMS). irrigation pumps, 30% subsidy would be provided by the central India is on track to a Universal Basic income (UBI) government, 30% by state and the remaining 40% would have to advocated by economists such as PranabBardhan and be arranged by the farmer. Vijay Joshi. Economic Survey in 2017: Arvind Subramanian predicted that India would move towards a quasi-basic income. PM-KISAN is not a UBI. According to the World Poverty Clock, barely 6% of Indians are below the World Bank’s poverty line of $1.90 a day at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). A UBI equal to poverty-line income will cost 10% of the GDP whereas the net revenue of the Government of India (GoI) is barely 8% of GDP. Despite providing freebies (products or facilities provided free of cost like cell phones, free laptops, some units of free electricity etc.), the politicians have managed to keep the overall scal de cit under control. The Cabinet is likely to approve a Rs 10,000 crore (earlier Rs 5,500 So in the future, we can expect a balance of cash crore was set for the scheme) package for 4-5 years under the second transfers with freebies to certain votebanks making them phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric scally manageable. Vehicles (FAME-2) scheme with a greater focus on taxis and buses to curb oil imports and regulate fossil fuel emissions. If compared with FAME-1 for which the subsidy of Rs 900 crore has been allocated in the four years to FY19 end, the second phase has seen a ten-fold jump in outlay. It will o er incentives, such as exemption from paying road tax, registration fee and parking charges for various categories of electric and strong hybrid vehicles. No target has been set for electric vehicle (EV) sales. Page 28 STUDY IQ The Cabinet is likely to approve a Rs 10,000 crore (earlier Rs 5,500 crore was set for the scheme) package for 4-5 years under the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME-2) scheme with a greater focus on taxis and buses to curb oil imports and regulate fossil fuel emissions. If compared with FAME-1 for which the subsidy of Rs 900 crore has been allocated in the four years to FY19 end, the second phase has seen a ten-fold jump in outlay. It will o er incentives, such as exemption from paying road tax, registration fee and parking charges for various categories of electric and strong hybrid vehicles. No target has been set for electric vehicle (EV) sales.
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Is it even possible to engineer products keeping data localisation in mind? Reports & How will it work given the global, ever-changing world of the internet? What are the security risks associated with mandatory Indices data localisation? According to experts, “critical data” like military data, intelligence data; should be kept at the local level. S Chandrasekhar, Director of Government A airs at Microsoft said 3 aspects that should be kept in mind are privacy, security and strategic control. “Even as a multinational company, we also tell that if there is some very valuable data —- military, intelligence or critical data —- it need not be out on the public cloud, it can be put on-premise,” he said, adding that the size of such data was “minuscule” . Gopalakrishnan S, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology: the purpose of the law was to bring in the privacy component; however, localisation would be “one of the components, not the end of all of it”. “This will ensure that citizens’ privacy is assured, data is protected and there is some remedy. That’s the basic direction in which we are moving”. Recent media reports highlight a sharp fall in the ratio of new-born National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) girls to boys in several states. study: data localisation would shave o 0.8 percent from Unfortunately, Southern states of India, generally better performers India’s GDP. on many socioeconomic parameters have also displayed a bad trend. As per the data of 2007-16 Andhra Pradesh: fell by 168 for every 1,000 boys born Karnataka: 108 Tamil Nadu: 95 These numbers are collated from births registered under the civil registration system (CRS), the most detailed birth database. Sex ratios of states like Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi, have improved consistently between 2001 and 2016. Among big countries, India has the second worst female-to-male ratio (0.89) after China (0.87).
According to the report named Dell Technologies, In a report by NSSO (National Sample Survey O ce), half of India’s Digital Transformation Index India is the most digitally working age population i.e. 15 and above, are not contributing to any mature country in the world. economic activity. Dell Technologies, in collaboration with Intel and Vanson LFPR (Labour Force Participation Rate) was 49.8% in 2017-18, Bourne, surveyed 4,600 business leaders (director to C-suite) falling sharply from 55.9% in 2011-12. In 2004-05 this rate was 63.7%. from mid- to large-sized companies across the globe to LFPR is the share of the population who are either working or score their organizations’ transformation e orts. The study available for work. revealed that emerging markets are the most digitally This was part of the ndings of the NSSO’s periodic Labour Force mature, with India, Brazil, and Thailand topping the global Survey Report for 2017-18 which has been withheld by the ranking. In contrast, developed markets are slipping behind: government and reviewed by BUSINESS STANDARD. Japan, Denmark, and France received the lowest digital maturity scores.
An Indian Express discussion named ‘IE Thinc’ was conducted with ' the representatives from the government and corporate world. The debate revolved around questions such as- Page 29 STUDY IQ bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) Financial Sound Indicators Only eight companies worldwide have capabilities to showed that India holds the worst non-performing loan ratio among design semiconductor chips. the world’s major economies, having surpassed Italy which is at 200 With this innovation,India has become arch-rival to US billion Euros ($227 billion) last year from their peak of over 360 majors such as Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom. million Euros in 2016. India can manage to bring it into Intellectual Property India holds a total of $190 billion NPA as a result lenders are in Rights (IPR). doubt and investments have been curbed. Below is the image showing the top 10 countries having the highest non-performing loan ratio According to Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei, India has the potential to become the largest 5G market after China in the coming 10 years and Hong Kong will be the rst market to deploy 5g technology in the South- East Asia region. Thailand, India, and Vietnam will follow Hong Kong and launch 5G. The company is also working with the local telcos for 5G eld trials that may happen in the second half of the year. Normal monsoon likely with slow start: Skymet
– According to weather forecasting group Skymet, monsoon rainfall this year may be normal with a slow start. The El Nino (it often derailed monsoon rainfall) The report showsIndian corporates are likely to see a slowdownin phenomenon is not expected to have a major impact. the upcoming 1-2 years. Reasons: CSO report on job creation India’s central government elections this year, as a change in administration may increase the spending that may raise the in ation. According to the data of the Employees State Insurance Global risks like trade wars, global economic slowdown, and Corporation (ESIC) released by the Central Statistics O ce disorderlyBrexit. (CSO), nearly two crore jobs were created in 16 months to December 2018. ‘ The ESIC provides health insurance and medical services to the insured persons of the institutions having 20 or more The British lawmakers issued a report that called Facebook and workers whose monthly wages are up to Rs 21,000. other tech rms ‘digital gangsters’ and intentionally violating data During September 2017 and December 2018, nearly 1.96 privacy and competition laws. crore subscribers joined the scheme. After an 18-month long investigation by Parliament’s in uential As per EPFO data, in the formal sector, 7.16 lakh of jobs media committee, a report on fake news and disinformation on were created in December 2018 compared to 2.37 lakh in social media sites was issued that recommended social media sites the year ago. to follow a mandatory code of ethics overseen by an independent The EPFO covers all those rms that have 20 or more regulator to better control harmful or illegal content. employees whose wages are up to 15,000 per month. Unequal access to tech According toGSMA’s 2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report, 80% of women in middle- and low-income countries are now mobile owners and 48% of women in these countries use mobile to get online (In 2017, it was lower at 17%). The mobile gender gap is widest in South Asia where women are 28% less likely than men to own a mobile device and 58% less likely to use the mobile internet. Omidyar Network (a silicon valley based investment) 2017 rm India speci c report shows only 44.1% of women own a mobile phone compared with 73% of men and women comprise only 35% and 25% of mobile internet and Facebook users, respectively. The barriers that need to be addressed in order to further decrease the mobile gender gap are a ordability, literacy and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, and safety and security concerns. Page 30 STUDY IQ According toGSMA’s 2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report, 80% of women in middle- and low-income countries are now mobile owners and 48% of women in these countries use mobile to get online (In 2017, it was lower at 17%). The mobile gender gap is widest in South Asia where women are 28% less likely than men to own a mobile device and 58% less likely to use the mobile internet. Omidyar Network (a silicon valley based investment) 2017 rm India speci c report shows only 44.1% of women own a mobile phone compared with 73% of men and women comprise only 35% and 25% of mobile internet and Facebook users, respectively. The barriers that need to be addressed in order to further decrease the mobile gender gap are a ordability, literacy and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, and safety and security concerns.
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Mooted by women and child development minister Miscellaneous Maneka Gandhi, the women and child development ministry will soon set up Women’s Entrepreneurship Council as part of an e ort to support women businesspersons. Function: networking as well as mentorship platform for aspiring entrepreneurs. The council will include established women entrepreneurs to guide and help build an ecosystem for helping raise credit for small businesses. The council will also act as a national advisory council to advise the government on issues related to women entrepreneurs. A similar platform, called ‘Women Entrepreneurs Platform’, was launched by the NITI Aayog last year. In his interim budget speech, nance minister Piyush Minister had underlined the fact that women accounted for 75% of the bene ciaries under PM Mudra Yojana. The potentially slowing rate of global growth and India’s continuing growth trajectory present both opportunities and challenges. From the expected 7.5% growth rate in 2019 to 7.7% in 2020, there is much to look forward to and prepare for. For retaining and improving our recent rankings as the fth largest economy in the World while taking India to a $20 trillion GDP, we have to make sure regulations and realities of business go hand in hand. Digital India has made the right overtures by reducing leakages and building greater accountability. Technology has played an enabling role in opening doors to new “The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the industries and new roles most notably in ntech, foodtech, rideshare, Community Behind” e-commerce deliveries, and logistics and now in hospitality. The book is about the three pillars – state (government), Every year about 4.75 million people are stated to enter the markets and community – that support society and how workforce of our country. the right balance among them can be restored so that Technology and technology-enabled and tech-driven enterprises society prospers. can go a long way in being able to create new industries, products, Rajan reintroduces the “neglected” third pillar – the services and most importantly, new roles that can take advantage community – into the debate. of this demographic dividend. Budget sops to boost growth
Moody’s Investors Services: budget sops will give a scal stimulus Heart of the issue: Whether social media sites like of about 0.45% of GDP, and support growth through increased Twitter can promote speci c content on their apps, if yes, consumption, though at scal cost. then these organizations should be placed with media It also said that scal slippage from the budgeted targets for the houses that are involved in news promotion. past two consecutive years is CREDIT NEGATIVE for India. The social media sites are claiming that their platform is solely meant for social interaction with no responsibility Moody’s downgrades BhartiAirtel for content. The country’s 2nd largest telecom company’s ratings have been In this regard, the parliamentary panel in India has cut to Ba1 from Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service. summoned Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, to appear before This is for the rst time that Bharti’s credit rating has been it on 24th February. downgraded to below investment grade by an international agency. Facebook and Google’s top brass has been summoned This means that if Bharti chooses to raise funds overseas it will have by the US legislatures about the use of personal data and to pay more. their role in the spread of misinformation during the 2016 US presidential elections.
Page 31 STUDY IQ Heart of the issue: Whether social media sites like Twitter can promote speci c content on their apps, if yes, then these organizations should be placed with media houses that are involved in news promotion. The social media sites are claiming that their platform is solely meant for social interaction with no responsibility for content. The country’s 2nd largest telecom company’s ratings have been In this regard, the parliamentary panel in India has cut to Ba1 from Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service. summoned Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, to appear before This is for the rst time that Bharti’s credit rating has been it on 24th February. downgraded to below investment grade by an international agency. Facebook and Google’s top brass has been summoned This means that if Bharti chooses to raise funds overseas it will have by the US legislatures about the use of personal data and to pay more. their role in the spread of misinformation during the 2016 US presidential elections.
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Google has been ned $57 million by France’s data protection watchdog, known as CNIL. 19 July 2018: WhatsApp announced a test to limit the forwarding of messages to 5 at once in India and 20 in rest countries
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The standard deduction for the salaried people has been raised to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000. TDS threshold on rental income is raised from 1.8 lakh to Interim Budget 2.4 lakh and on interest earned on bank/post o ce deposits is being raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000. Exemption on income tax on notional rent on a second 2019 self-occupied house. The bene t of rollover capital gains will be increased from investment in one residential house to two residential houses for a tax payer having capital gains upto 2 crores. This bene t can be availed once in a lifetime. Defence: An outlay of highest-ever 3.5 lakh crore rupees have been set aside for the Defence Budget 2019-20. This is around 20,000 crore rupees more compare to the allocation for the current year. The budget also proposes a substantial hike in the allocations to health care, MGNREGA, Welfare programmes of SCs and STs, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Women’s Development, Empowerment of Youth and development of infrastructure in the North-East. Middle path on populism: The BJP’s election managers were asking for a massive waiver of Rs 1.5 lakh crore but An Interim Union Budget for 2019-20 was presented by MrPiyush only Rs 75,000 crore package was granted. Goyal in Parliament. The government also announced a 10% reservation in Pradhan Mantri KisanSammanNidhi: Direct income support of Rs government jobs and education for economically weaker 6,000 per year for small and marginal farmers (having less than 2 sections. hectares of land). The interim budget has a provision for increasing seats This scheme will bene t 12 crore small and marginal farmers and in educational institutions by 25% and an increase in will cost Rs 75,000 crore. outlay for SC/ST schemes and programmes by 28-35%. It will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of the bene ciary in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The scheme will come into e ect with the retrospective date of The government will not cut any subsidies to fund December1, 2018. welfare schemes. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi MaanDhan: This is the world’s largest He hinted that taxpayers could get more in the nal pension scheme bene tting 10 crore labourers and workers like budget for FY20 that will be presented in July after the plumbers, electricians, household helps, drivers etc (salary less than general election. Rs 15,000) in the unorganised sector. A pension of Rs 3,000 per month will be provided after they attain the age of 60 years. A worker joining this scheme at the age of 29 years will have to contribute Rs 100 per month while a worker joining at the age of 18; will have to contribute Rs 55 per month. 500 crore rupees has been allocated for the scheme. Tax slab: There will be no change in the existing rates or slabs of Income Tax for the nancial year 2019-20. Individuals having an income of upto 5 lakh rupees will not have to “Where is the scal problem — I don’t understand,” Piyush pay any tax. Goyal said. “This year we have provided Rs 20,000 crore Persons with a gross income of upto 6.5 lakh rupees may not be extra for farmers, so only that 0.1% of slippage. And that required to pay any income tax if they make investments in Provident also I have explained earlier is (actually) 3.36%.” That’s Funds and speci ed savings and insurance. against the targeted 3.3% for FY19. Additional deductions like interest on the home loans of upto 2 % lakh rupees and interest on education loans, national pension scheme contribution, medical insurance, medical expenditure of senior citizens will attract tax relief.
Page 33 STUDY IQ An Interim Union Budget for 2019-20 was presented by MrPiyush Goyal in Parliament. Pradhan Mantri KisanSammanNidhi: Direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year for small and marginal farmers (having less than 2 hectares of land). This scheme will bene t 12 crore small and marginal farmers and will cost Rs 75,000 crore. It will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of the bene ciary in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The scheme will come into e ect with the retrospective date of December1, 2018. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi MaanDhan: This is the world’s largest pension scheme bene tting 10 crore labourers and workers like plumbers, electricians, household helps, drivers etc (salary less than Rs 15,000) in the unorganised sector. A pension of Rs 3,000 per month will be provided after they attain the age of 60 years. A worker joining this scheme at the age of 29 years will have to contribute Rs 100 per month while a worker joining at the age of 18; will have to contribute Rs 55 per month. 500 crore rupees has been allocated for the scheme. Tax slab: There will be no change in the existing rates or slabs of Income Tax for the nancial year 2019-20. Individuals having an income of upto 5 lakh rupees will not have to pay any tax. Persons with a gross income of upto 6.5 lakh rupees may not be required to pay any income tax if they make investments in Provident Funds and speci ed savings and insurance. Additional deductions like interest on the home loans of upto 2 lakh rupees and interest on education loans, national pension scheme contribution, medical insurance, medical expenditure of senior citizens will attract tax relief.
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The Indian economy had grown 7.1% in the second quarter and 8.2% in the rst quarter but in the third quarter of FY19, it is likely to have grown at a slower pace of 6.7-7.2%. The Reserve Bank of India expects FY19 growth at 7.4%. The rst advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy is likely to expand 7.2% in FY19.
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QUESTIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’s BANKING AND FINANCIAL AWARENESS Q1) According to RBI’s report, country’s foreign exchange reserves has been increased by USD 2.063 billion to USD ____ billion ?
(a) 500 (b) 400 (c) 350 (d) 450
Q2) To boost liquidity in the farming sector, particularly among small and marginal farmers, the RBI has announced to increase the limit of collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs _____ lakh?
(a) 2.5 lakh (b) 1.6 lakh (c) 1.8 lakh (d) 2 lakh
Q3) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to raise the criteria for ‘bulk deposits’ for banks to Rs ____ crore from the current Rs 1 crore ?
(a) 2 Crore (b) 3 Crore (c) 2.5 Crore (d) 1.2 Crore
Q4) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has imposed a ne of Rs nine lakh on which of the following insurance companies ?
(a) PNB MetLife (b) Oriental (c) United India (d) HDFC Ergo
Q5) Which High Court has given its verdict that banks are liable for unauthorized withdrawals from customer accounts ?
(a) Madras (b) Kerala (c) Delhi (d) Bombay
Q6) The Asian Development Bank has raised $100 million from which currency -linked bonds in the international market ?
(a) Turkish Lira (b) Peso (c) Krone (d) Ringgit
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Q7) State-owned power giant NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 5,000 crore with which of the following banks ?
(a) Bank of India (b) Punjab National Bank (c) Bank of Baroda (d) State Bank of India
Q8) The Reserve Bank of India has merged the three categories of NBFCs into a new category called NBFC-ICC. What is the full form of ICC ?
(a) Investment and credit company (b) International credit company (c) Investment and cash company (d) Investment and corporate company
Q9) Srei Equipment Finance has tied up with which bank to jointly provide nancing for construction and farm equipment ?
(a) Federal bank (b) Syndicate Bank (c) Axis Bank (d) Yes Bank
Q10) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formalized the USD 75- billion swap agreement with which of the following banks ?
(a) Bank of Iran (b) Bank of Japan (c) Bank of America (d) Bank of Australia AGRICULTURE
Q1) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has issued Categorization of farmers in agriculture census. Agriculture census is conducted in every ____ years ?
(a) Four years (b) Three years (c) Ten years (d) Five years
Q2) 3-Day Long Krishi Kumbh was held in which of the following states ?
(a) Jharkhand (b) Bihar (c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Uttarakhand
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Q1) Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who has become the chairman of the African Union (AU) hails from which country ?
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(a) Benin (b) Burkina Faso (c) Cameroon (d) Egypt
Q2)Who has become the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Marshall Islands ?
(a) Ravi Shankar Aisola (b) Manika Jain (c) Saurabh Kumar (d) Sanjay Kumar Verma
Q3) Who has taken charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Minority A airs ?
(a) Shri Sarvesh (b) Shri Satish (c) Shri Sudeep (d) Shri Sailesh
Q4) Who has been appointed as the new Union Sports Secretary ?
(a) Rahul Bhatnagar (b) Radheshyam Julaniya (c) Vinod Rai (d) Gautam Garg
Q5) Who has taken charge of Director General of the Punjab Police ?
(a) Dinkar Gupta (b) Avinash Patidar (c) Sushant Sharma (d) Pradeep Mewara
Q6) Who has been appointed as the CEO of Fortis Healthcare ?
(a) Yash Gupta (b) Mahendra Rathore (c) Ashutosh Raghuvanshi (d) Ishwar Mewada
Q7) Who has been appointed as the assistant coach for World Cup for Australia ?
(a) Shane Warne (b) Brett Lee (c) Ricky Ponting (d) Adam Gilchrist
Q8) Who was appointed as the Ambassador of India to Bhutan ?
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(a) Manjeev Singh Puri (b) Ruchira Kamboj (c) Vikas Swarup (d) Archana Upadhyay
Q9) Who has been elected as the new Vice-President of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for a four- year term ?
(a) Dato Fumio Ogura (b) Mohammad Mushtaque Ahmad (c) Sultan abdullah ibni (d) Wasim Mohammad
Q10) Who has been elected as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) ?
(a) Deepak Nadwani (b) Kuldeep Singh (c) Brijbhushan Sharan Singh (d) Binod Chandra Das
Q11)Who has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Sudan ?
(a) Omar al-Bashir (b) Bashar al-Assad (c) Mohammad Tahir Ela (d) Barham Salih
Q12) Who has been named as the brand ambassador of Swasth Immunised India ?
(a) Alia Bhatt (b) Kareena Kapoor (c) Shraddha Kapoor (d) Priyanka Chopra
Q13) Who has taken oath as the First Lokayukta of Nagaland ?
(a) Ramnath Singh (b) Vishnu Dutt (c) Uma Nath Singh (d) Brijesh Gupta
Q14) Who was selected as the president of the Foundation Board for Better Boxing of AIBA (International Boxing Association) ?
(a) Gagandeep singh (b) Ajay Singh (c) Rakesh Sharma (d) Anurag Sharma
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Q15) Donald Trump has nominated whom as US ambassador to the UN ?
(a) Kenneth Juster (b) Paul Jones (c) Terry Brandstad (d) Kelly Knight Craft DEFENCE & SECURITY
Q1) Sapta Shakti Command of Indian Army conducted a two- day Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise “Exercise Rahat” in which city ?
(a) Jaipur (b) Pune (c) Kochi (d) Jabalpur
Q2) Which of the following INS warships participated in a multi-national training exercise ‘CUTCLASS EXPRESS 2019’ ?
(a) INS Vikramaditya (b) INS Trikand (c) INS Virat (d) INS Vkaral
Q3) India has successfully test- red the helicopter-launched which version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile ?
(a) Rudraksh (b) Helina (c) Trident (d) Baby
Q4) Multinational Maritime Exercise ‘Aman 19’ was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Delhi (b) Karachi (c) Colombo (d) Thimphu
Q5) Which of the following countries has successfully tested the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR)’ propulsion-based missile system ?
(a) Russia (b) India (c) Australia (d) France Q6) Which country has announced to launch a 3-day annual navy drill named “Velayat 97” in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean ?
(a) Qatar (b) Oman (c) Iran (d) Saudi Arab Page 39 STUDY IQ (a) Qatar (b) Oman (c) Iran (d) Saudi Arab
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Q7) Cobra Gold, one of world’s largest multinational military exercises, was held in which of the following countries ?
(a) USA (b) Russia (c) Thailand (d) Singapore EXTERNAL SECTOR GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
Q1) Which of the following states has announced a new scheme called Arundhati to provide gold at free of cost to the brides ?
(a) Odisha (b) Sikkim (c) Assam (d) Chhattisgarh
Q2) Which union minister has launched two schemes, the Hirkani Maharashtrachi and District Business Plan Competition in Mumbai ?
(a) Devendra Fadnavis (b) Suresh Prabhu (c) Narendra Modi (d) Smirti Irani
Q3) Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has launched “Light House Projects challenge” for States/ UTs to select How many sites across the country for constructing the Lighthouse projects under GHTC- India ?
(a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 10 (d) 12
Q4) Under Ujjwala scheme, which state is all set to achieve 100 % LPG coverage , it has already achieved 97.9% coverage ?
(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Gujarat (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Bihar
Q5) Madhya Pradesh has launched the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana under which employment of how many days will be provided to youths ?
(a) 120 (b) 150 (c) 100 (d) 140
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Q6) Which state has approved ‘Khushi Yojana’ to provide free sanitary napkins to around 17.25 lakh school girls from Class VI to XII across the state ?
(a) Rajasthan (b) Odisha (c) Gujarat (d) Uttarakhand
Q7) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme under which how much amount will be provided per year to small and marginal farmer families ?
(a) 5,000 (b) 6,000 (c) 4,000 (d) 3,000
Q8) Which state has launched the boat ambulance service to help patients reach hospitals in remote areas cut o by rivers ?
(a) Karnataka (b) Odisha (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Kerala
Q9) Which state has launched the Second Edition of Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan ?
(a) Gujarat (b) Rajasthan (c) Odisha (d) Bihar HONOURS & AWARDS
Q1) Weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai has clinched gold at EGAT Cup held in Thailand. She hails from which state ?
(a) Assam (b) Arunachal Pradesh (c) Manipur (d) Mizoram
Q2) Which of the following players has won the Chennai Open ATP challenger title ?
(a) Andrew Harris (b) Corentin Moutet (c) Pranjesh Gungeshwar (d) Somdev Devvarman
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Q3) Which of the following players has won the 86th senior snooker national championship ?
(a) Pankaj Advani (b) Lakshman Rawat (c) Yasin Merchant (d) Lucky Vatnani
Q4) Which of the following movies has won the Best Film award at 72nd BAFTA awards ?
(a) The Favourite (b) Roma (c) A star is Born (d) Green book
Q5) Which Indian Historian has won the Israel's Dan David Prize 2019 ?
(a) Romila Thapar (b) Irfan Habib (c) Sanjay Subrahmanyam (d) Sumit Sarkar
Q6) Which of the following songs has won the Song of the Year at 2019 Grammys awards ?
(a) This is America (b) My way (c) Sweetener (d) God's plan
Q7) Who was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television ?
(a) Amitabh Bachchan (b) Kalpana Lajmi (c) Deepa Mehta (d) Sridevi
Q8) Who has become rst Indian woman to won Global Future For Nature Award 2019 ?
(a) Deepa Kumar (b) Jayati Ghosh (c) Sangeeta Bhatia (d) Divya Karnad
Q9) Who has won the rst gold for India at the ISSF World Cup by nishing on top of the women’s 10 metre Air Ri e category ?
(a) Rahi Sarnobat (b) Tejaswini Sawant (c) Anisa Sayyed (d) Apurvi Chandela
Page 42 STUDY IQ (a) Rahi Sarnobat (b) Tejaswini Sawant (c) Anisa Sayyed (d) Apurvi Chandela
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Q10) Which women wicket keeper has set the Guinness World Record for the highest catch of a cricket ball ?
(a) Alyssa Healy (b) Diana Edulgie (c) Charlotte Edwards (d) Enid Bakewal
Q11) Who has been named 2018 Player of the Year by Asian Hockey Federation ?
(a) Sandeep Singh (b) Sardar Singh (c) Rupinder Pal Singh (d) Harmanpreet Singh
Q12) Who has won gold in the men’s 10 metre air pistol category at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi ?
(a) Vijay Kumar (b) Saurabh Chaudhary (c) Ronjan Sodhi (d) Sajjan Singh
Q13) Which team has made history by making the highest score in T20 International?
(a) Australia (b) Ireland (c) India (d) Afghanistan
Q14) Who has won the Cannes International Open Chess Title ?
(a) Luigi Basso (b) Abhijeet Gupta (c) Magnus Carlsen (d) Vishwanath Anand
Q15) Which team won the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League (PVL) ?
(a) Chennai Spartans (b) Calicut Heroes (c) Ahmedabad Defenders (d) Kochi Blue Spikers
Q16) How many Sri Lankan students were awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship ?
(a) 100 (b) 50 (c) 150 (d) 110
Page 43 STUDY IQ (a) 100 (b) 50 (c) 150 (d) 110
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Q17) Which movie won the Best Picture Award at Oscars 2019?
(a) Roma (b) Green book (c) Jungle Book (d) Free solo INDIA & THE WORLD
Q1) The Indian Air Force has received the rst four of the 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from which of the following countries ?
(a) Russia (b) USA (c) Israel (d) France
Q2) India and Bangladesh have signed an MOU for training how many Bangladesh Civil Servants at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) ?
(a) 2,000 (b) 1,800 (c) 3,000 (d) 1,500
Q3) India and which of the following countries have launched an initiative to Combat Marine Pollution ?
(a) Sweden (b) Spain (c) Norway (d) France Q4) Which country was invited as the Guest of Honour at the 46th Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers ?
(a) Pakistan (b) India (c) Bhutan (d) Bangladesh
Q5) India has signed how many agreements with South Korea to enhance bilateral cooperation in key areas, including media, start-ups and combating trans-border and international crime ?
(a) Seven (b) Five (c) Three (d) Six
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Q6) Which country has recently began exports to India through Chabahar port in Iran ?
(a) Oman (b) Iraq (c) Afghanistan (d) Qatar INDUSTRY
Q1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 13th International Oil and Gas Conference - PETROTECH-2019 in which of the following cities ?
(a) Greater Noida (b) Agra (c) Bareilly (d) Kanpur
Q2) Chinese smartphone player Oppo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with which state government to support and develop the startup ecosystem in the state?
(a) Tamil Nadu (b) Andhra Pradesh (c) Sikkim (d) Telangana
Q3) Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani launched the Integrated Large Scale Eri Farming in which of the following states ?
(a) Nagaland (b) Assam (c) Mizoram (d) Arunachal Pradesh
Q4) National Conference on Logistics Policy was held in New Delhi recently and on this occasion a mobile app was launched named what ?
(a) YATRA (b) SAFAR (c) RASTA (d) SATHI
Q5) Saudi Arabia-backed $44-billion Ratnagiri re nery project may be shifted to which of the following districts of Maharashtra?
(a) Raigad (b) Aurangabad (c) Solapur (d) Latur
Q6) Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has launched which dashboard in New Delhi to keep people informed about the work going on in the Railways across the country ?
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(a) Rail Khabar (b) Rail Drishti (c) Rail Suchana (d) Rail Bandhu INFRASTRUCTURE
Q1) PM Modi has laid the foundation stone for North East Gas Grid in which of the following cities ?
(a) Itanagar (b) Agartala (c) Guwahati (d) Imphal
Q2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently laid the foundation stone for the strategically important Sela Tunnel Project in which of the following states ?
(a) Assam (b) Tripura (c) Arunachal Pradesh (d) Nagaland
Q3) Which state will get the country’s 2nd longest rail tunnel which will be 9.02-km long ?
(a) Odisha (b) Karnataka (c) Arunachal Pradesh (d) Kerala
Q4) The Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Arti cial Intelligence (RBC-DSAI) was inaugurated at which of the following IIT’s ?
(a) IIT Madras (b) IIT Kanpur (c) IIT Delhi (d) IIT Bombay
Q5) Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Cancer Institute in which of the following cities of Haryana ?
(a) Ambala (b) Faridabad (c) Jhajjar (d) Karnal INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Q1) Vat Cau is a centuries-old sport which began as a training exercise for soldiers in which country and contains elements of wrestling and rugby ?
(a) China (b) Cambodia (c) Vietnam (d) Laos Page 46 STUDY IQ (a) China (b) Cambodia (c) Vietnam (d) Laos
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Q2) In an attempt to enable users shop better using Arti cial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, which company has acquired US-based virtual search start-up, GrokStyle ?
(a) Google (b) Yahoo (c) Facebook (d) Twitter
Q3) United States has launched Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) which aimed at empowerment of 50 million women in the developing world by which year ?
(a) 2030 (b) 2022 (c) 2040 (d) 2025
Q4) Which of the following will be its mascot for the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on the conservation of migratory species (CMS) ?
(a) Flamingo (b) Amur Falcon (c) Great hornbill (d) Great Indian Bustard
Q5) Vowing to reduce the U.S. de cit with large economies, President Trump is planning to withdraw the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from which of the following countries ?
(a) Japan (b) India (c) Australia (d) Pakistan
Q6) The seventh session of the World Government Summit was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Delhi (b) Doha (c) Karachi (d) Dubai
Q7) International Paralympics Committee (IPC) has lifted the ban on which country’s Para athletes under certain conditions ?
(a) Japan (b) Australia (c) Germany (d) Russia
Q8) Federal Competition O ce (FCO) of which country has asked facebook that the users should be asked for consent before data collected by the group’s subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram ?
(a) Australia (b) Germany (c) France (d) Canada
Page 47 STUDY IQ (a) Australia (b) Germany (c) France (d) Canada
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Q9) Name the Director European Film Market (EFM) who inaugurated India Pavilion at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) 2019 ?
(a) Matthijis Wouter Knol (b) Roy Andersson (c) Lukas Moodysson (d) Werner Herzog
Q10) Which of the following countries has declared a year-long state of emergency because of the anti- government protests in the nation ?
(a) Nigeria (b) Egypt (c) Sudan (d) Libya
Q11) Which country has launched a new, devalued currency ‘RTGS dollars’ to combat a cash shortage ?
(a) Zimbabwe (b) Vietnam (c) New zealand (d) Denmark
Q12) The International Olympic Committee has suspended which country from organizing global sports events and Olympic related sports in the future ?
(a) Thailand (b) Pakistan (c) India (d) Malaysia
Q13) African cheetahs from which country will be translocated in India and will be kept at Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, under the Cheetah Relocation Project ?
(a) Angola (b) Namibia (c) Zambia (d) Libya
Q14) The European Union (EU) has urged nations to avoid any military intervention in which of the following countries ?
(a) Syria (b) Palestine (c) Iraq (d) Venezuela POLITY & GOVERNANCE
Q1) Abu Dhabi judicial division has included which language as the third o cial language to be used in its courts ?
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(a) French (b) Spanish (c) Hindi (d) Mandarin
Q2) e-cocoon – a mobile app was launched by which of the following ministries of India ?
(a) Ministry of Culture (b)Ministry of Commerce (c) Ministry of Textiles (d) Ministry of Home A airs
Q3) The Jammu & Kashmir Government has declared which district as the third administrative division of the state ?
(a) Srinagar (b) Kulgam (c) Ladakh (d) Leh
Q4) The Union Home Ministry has banned which terrorist group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act ?
(a) Lashkar-e-Taiba (b) Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (c) Maoist Communist Center (d) Jamiat ul mujahideen
Q5) Centre has allocated Rs 59 crore to which of the following states for Asiatic Lion conservation ?
(a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Gujarat (c) Karnataka (d) Assam
Q6) The Election Commission has launched a programme named VVIP. What does “I” in VVIP stands for ?
(a) Information (b) Input (c) Interface (d) Innovation
Q7) The Government has, from time to time, has taken steps to protect Sentinelese Tribe. According to the 2011 census, their total population stands at ?
(a) 100 (b) 50 (c) 400 (d) 80
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Q8) Name the Finance Minister of Odisha who has presented the Interim Budget amounting to Rs. 1,32,660 for nancial year 2019-2020 ?
(a) Rajesh Agarwal (b) Sashi Bhushan Behera (c) Bhupesh Baghel (d) Tarun Bhanot
Q9) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated New High Court Circuit Bench in which of the following districts of West Bengal ?
(a) Murshidabad (b) Malda (c) Jalpaiguri (d) Purulia
Q10) Which state has passed the Bill for 5% reservation each for the Kapus (Kapus, Telaga, Ontari and Balija sub-castes) and other EWS in the general category through 103rd amendment to the Constitution?
(a) Telangana (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Odisha
Q11) Which of the following states has approved the Tribal Commission Bill 2019? The commission will reserved the post of its chairman and other members for STs.
(a) Bihar (b) Chhattisgarh (c) Rajasthan (d) Jharkhand
Q12) Government e Marketplace (GeM) and Competition Commission of India (CCI) entered into a MoU to enable a fair and competitive environment in the e-Marketplace. Who is the chairman of the CCI ?
(a) S Radha Chauhan (b) Ashok Kumar Gupta (c) Devendra Sikri (d) Ashok Lavasa
13) Which of the following will take up recently presented Interim Budget 2019-20 for discussion?
(a) Rajya Sabha (b) Lok Sabha (c) Legislative Assembly (d) Finance Minister
Q14) The rst LAWASIA Human Rights Conference was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Pune (b) Delhi (c) Jaipur (d) Kochi
Page 50 STUDY IQ (a) Pune (b) Delhi (c) Jaipur (d) Kochi
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Q15) The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry organised the rst annual conference of Media Units in which city ?
(a) Bengaluru (b) Gurugram (c) Mumbai (d) Delhi
Q16) A Bill to counter exploitation by NRI spouses was introduced in Rajya Sabha under which a marriage between an NRI and an Indian citizen will have to be registered within _____ days from the date of marriage ?
(a) 15 days (b) 7 Days (c) 30 days (d) 20 days
Q17) Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey has launched the ‘National Action Plan for which viral disease ?
(a) Swine u (b) Monkey Pox (c) Hepatitis (d) Chikungunya
Q18) Election Commission of India has developed which mobile app, for the upcoming Lok Sabha election ? a) cVIGIL (b) n VIGIL (c) eVIGIL (d) bVIGIL REPORTS & INDICES
Q1) Who has topped the Hurun India Philanthropy list with donation amount of 437 crores ?
(a) Ajay Piramal (b) Mukesh Ambani (c) Azim Premji (d) Gautam Adani
Q2) Who has become the First Indian to smash100 sixes in T20I cricket ?
(a) Virat Kohli (b) Shikhar Dhawan (c) Rohit Sharma (d) Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Q3)Which of the following players has scored the fastest fty for India in Women’s T20’s ?
(a) Mithali raj (b) Harmanpreet Kaur (c) Smriti Mandhana (d) Ekta Bisht Page 51 STUDY IQ (a) Mithali raj (b) Harmanpreet Kaur (c) Smriti Mandhana (d) Ekta Bisht
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Q4) 9th Senior Women's Hockey National Championship took place in which of the following cities ?
(a) Jaipur (b) Hisar (c) Amritsar (d) Ranchi
Q5) The 22nd annual Indian Birding Fair was held in which of the following cities?
(a) Delhi (b) Jaipur (c) Bhopal (d) Raipur
Q6) Which edition of the Surajkund International Crafts Mela kicked o at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana?
(a) 30th (b) 32nd (c) 33rd (d) 35th
Q7) India’s rst Institute of Advanced Virology was inaugurated in which of the following states ?
(a) Maharashtra (b) Kerala (c) Karnataka (d) Jharkhand
Q8) 3rd Brahmaputra Literary Festival, 2019 took place in which of the following cities ?
(a) Itanagar (b) Imphal (c) Mizoram (d) Guwahati
Q9) The 5th edition of the International Dam Safety Conference 2019 was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Pune (b) Bhubaneswar (c) Kochi (d) Delhi
Q10) The rst ESIC Medical College and Hospital in north India was inaugurated in which of the following cities ?
(a) Faridabad (b) Amritsar (c) Gurugram (d) Lucknow
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Q11) Jamie Chadwick who has become the rst female driver to win MRF Challenge Title , hails from which of the following countries ?
(a) US (b) England (c) Australia (d) Sweden
Q12) 83rd edition of Senior National Badminton Championships was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Imphal (b) Dispur (c) Guwahati (d) Delhi
Q13) According to the gures released by the UK Met O ce , the decade from 2014 to 2023 could end up being the warmest in over _____ years of records ?
(a) 120 years (b) 100 years (c) 150 years (d) 125 years
Q14) As on 6 Feb 2019, nearly how many crore LPG consumers have voluntarily surrendered their LPG subsidy under ‘GiveItUp’ campaign?
(a) 1.12 crore (b) 3.12 crore (c) 1.04 crore (d) 2.04 crore
Q15) Iran Marks ____ th Anniversary Of Islamic Revolution in 2019 ?
(a) 50th (b) 40th (c) 35th (d) 75th
Q16) Which state has become the rst state in India to get two Coast Guard district ?
(a) Odisha (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Karnataka (d) Andhra Pradesh
Q17)Who has become the rst woman to co-pilot Made-In-India Tejas which is a Light Combat Aircraft ?
(a) Saina Nehwal (b) Mary Kom (c) PV Sindhu (d) Apurvi Chandela
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Q18) Which is the only Indian company to make it to ’50 Most Innovative Companies’ list, the list was published by US-based business publication Fast Company ?
(a) Ola (b) JioSaavn (c) OYO (d) Saathi
Q19) Which state has become the rst state to deploy specially-trained dogs to check smuggling of liquor ?
(a) Jharkhand (b) Bihar (c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Odisha
Q20) As per the Economic Survey Report tabled in the Delhi Assembly, the economy of Delhi is estimated to have grown at what per cent in 2018-19 ?
(a) 8 % (b) 8.61 % (c) 7.9% (d) 8.2 %
Q21) 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit was held in which city ?
(a) Bengaluru (b) Hyderabad (c) Delhi (d) Jaipur Q22) 44th Global Summit of International Advertising Association was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Bengaluru (b) Kochi (c) Pune (d) Amravati TAXATION
Q1) Ahead of March 31 deadline, just what percent of country's PAN cards are linked with Aadhaar, as revealed by Central Board of Direct Taxes ?
(a) 40 % (b) 45 % (c) 65 % (d) 50 %
Q2) The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has formed a four-member committee to address tax related points and reduce the number of tax litigations. Who will head this committee ?
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(a) Gurbachan Singh Randhawa (b) KK Mahapatra (c) Vishnu Nair (d) Sanjeev Sharma
Q3) The Goods and Services Tax (GST) on a ordable housing properties without input tax credit (ITC) has been reduced to what percent ?
(a) 2% (b) 3% (c) 1% (d) 4% MISCELLANEOUS
Q1) A new dedicated DD channel “DD Arun Prabha” was launched recently in Arunachal Pradesh, this is the ______th channel operated by Doordarshan ?
(a) 21st (b) 22nd (c) 25th (d) 24th
Q2) The rst mega food park of Himachal Pradesh was started in which of the following districts ?
(a) Kangra (b) Una (c) Chamba (d) Shimla
Q3) The third campus of Film and Television Institute would be started o in which of the following states ?
(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Andhra Pradesh (c) Himachal Pradesh (d) Arunachal Pradesh
Q4) Who is the author of the book “Law, Justice and Judicial Power – Justice P N Bhagwati’s Approach” ?
(a) Moolchand Sharma (b) Nihar Chand (c) Abhishek Sahu (d) Nihar Shekhar
Q5) World Pulses Day was observed on ?
(a) 12 February (b) 11 February (c) 10 February (d) 9 February
Page 55 STUDY IQ (a) 12 February (b) 11 February (c) 10 February (d) 9 February
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Q6) Bollywood actor who was best known for negative roles passed away recently, what was his name?
(a) Mahesh Anand (b) Mohan Joshi (c) Prakash Raj (d) Mukesh Anand
Q7) A Himalayan Cloud Observatory was set up in which of the following districts of Uttarakhand ?
(a) Rudraprayag (b) Tehri (c) Dehradun (d) Nainital
Q8) The term 'bully' is connected with which sport ?
(a) Cricket (b) Hockey (c) Badminton (d) Tennis
Q9) Under the prepared list of top 10 Revenue Generating Monuments, name the top three monuments in terms of generating revenue ?
(a) Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutub Minar (b) Konark Sun Temple, Ellora Caves, Khajuraho (c) Khajuraho, Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar (d) Qutub Minar, Konark Sun Temple, Taj Mahal
Q10) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a statue of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya. He was the last ruler of which of the following states ?
(a) Assam (b) Sikkim (c) Tripura (d) Meghalaya
Q11) Which tribe of Arunachal Pradesh celebrates fortnight-long Boori Boot Yollo festival ?
(a) Korbi (b) Khamti (c) Mishmi (d) Nyishi
Q12) The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is conducting its eighth round of National Deworming Day (NDD). The NDD was observed on ?
(a) February 9 (b) February 10 (c) February 6 (d) February 8
Page 56 STUDY IQ (a) February 9 (b) February 10 (c) February 6 (d) February 8
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Q13) Five-time Oscar-nominated famous British actor passed away recently , what was his name ?
(a) Gary Oldman (b) Albert Finney (c) Christopher Nolan (d) Sean Bean Q14) The centenary celebrations (100 years) of International Labour Organization (ILO) in India was inaugurated in which of the following states ?
(a) Gujarat (b) Bihar (c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Tamil Nadu
Q16) National Cleft Day was observed on ?
(a) February 10 (b) February 9 (c) February 8 (d) February 7
Q17) Two day Bengal Global Summit was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Asanol (b) Siliguri (c) Haldia (d) Kolkata
Q18) Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa has gone on four day visit of which of the following countries ?
(a) Afghanistan (b) Iran (c) Bangladesh (d) Sri Lanka
Q19) Name the renowned French cartoonist, author and illustrator who passed away at the age of 87 in Ireland ?
(a) Bill Watson (b) Scott Adams (c) Tomi Ungerer (d) Mike Judge
Q20) International Conference “INAGMET-2019 took place in which of the following cities ?
(a) Bengaluru (b) Kochi (c) New Delhi (d) Mumbai
Page 57 STUDY IQ (a) Bengaluru (b) Kochi (c) New Delhi (d) Mumbai
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Q21) International Epilepsy Day 2019 was observed on ?
(a) February 12 (b) February 11 (c) February 10 (d) February 13
Q22) Who has authored the book titled “Ramayan Retold With Scienti c Evidences” ?
(a) Mulchand Sharma (b) Arvind Adiga (c) Saroj Bala (d) Amish Tripathi
Q23) The Meghalaya Cabinet has decided to rename the Dikkibandi stadium after whom ?
(a) Donkuper Roy (b) Mukul Sangma (c) P A Sangma (d) D D Lapang
Q24) International Day Of Women And Girls In Science was observed on ?
(a) 10 February (b) 11 February (c) 12 February (d) 9 February
Q25) President Ram Nath Kovind has unveiled the life size portrait of which former Prime Minister at the Central Hall of Parliament ?
(a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee (b) H D Dave (c) Morarji Desai (d) Lal Bahadur Shastri
Q26) A committee constituted, for making a report for the Promotion and Protection of which language and its scripts, has submitted its report to MHRD ?
(a) Mathili (b) Sanskrit (c) Malawi (d) Tulu
Q27) More than 10,000 Ujjwala Didis have been identi ed by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to act as the brand ambassador of LPG and promote its usage in which of the following states ?
(a) Karnataka (b) Jharkhand (c) Odisha (d) Kerala
Page 58 STUDY IQ (a) Karnataka (b) Jharkhand (c) Odisha (d) Kerala
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Q28) Evan Williams was the co founder of which of the following companies ?
(a) Yahoo (b) IBM (c) Twitter (d) Net ix
Q29) Regional Maritime Safety Conference 2019 was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Delhi (b) Kochi (c) Nagpur (d) Mumbai
Q30) Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has inaugurated Sikaria Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd in which of the following cities ?
(a) Dispur (b) Agartala (c) Imphal (d) Gangtok
Q31) World’s largest bee was recently spotted rst time since 1981 in which of the following countries ?
(a) Thailand (b) Indonesia (c) Australia (d) Mali
Q32) Kodi Ramakrishna who passed away recently was a famous ?
(a) Actor (b) Politician (c) Author (d) Filmmaker
Q33) Central Excise Day was celebrated on ?
(a) February 23 (b) February 24 (c) February 21 (d) February 22
Q34) The Institute of Mathematical Sciences organized the fourth edition of 'Science at the Sabha', in which of the following cities ?
(a) Delhi (b) Raipur (c) Chennai (d) Hyderabad
Page 59 STUDY IQ (a) Delhi (b) Raipur (c) Chennai (d) Hyderabad
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Q35) Global Business Summit was held in which of the following cities ?
(a) Mumbai (b) New Delhi (c) Pune (d) Chennai
Q36) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated ‘Waste to Wonder Park’ in which of the following cities ?
(a) Pune (b) Delhi (c) Bengaluru (d) Kolkata
Q37) On the lines of Pulwama terror attack, Indian government has decided to stop the share of Indus water to Pakistan. The Indus Water Treaty was signed in which year ?
(a) 1960 (b) 1955 (c) 1962 (d) 1959
Q38) Which state’s police will set up an anti-drug cell in every school, college and youth institutions ?
(a) Himachal Pradesh (b) Punjab (c) Uttarakhand (d) Jharkhand
Q39) Which company has launched its global initiative ‘WorldClass’ in India, which aims to support 10 million girls and women by 2030 ?
(a) Facebook (b) Microsoft (c) Deloitte (d) IBM
Q40) Monkeys have again been declared vermin for the next one year in 11 districts’ 91 tehsils and sub-tehsils of which state ?
(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Uttarakhand (c) Himachal Pradesh (d) Madhya Pradesh
Q41) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation the National War Memorial . It has been built in which city ?
(a) Ahmedabad (b) New Delhi (c) Pune (d) Lucknow
Page 60 STUDY IQ (a) Ahmedabad (b) New Delhi (c) Pune (d) Lucknow
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Q42) A helpline number 1905 for quick redressal of public complaints was launched by which of the following states ?
(a) Himachal Pradesh (b) Uttarakhand (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Tamil Nadu
Q43) In which year did the Kakori conspiracy case take place?
(a) 1925 (b) 1924 (c) 1926 (d) 1927
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SOLUTIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’s BANKING AND FINANCIAL AWARENESS
Ans 1- (b) 400
Forex reserves rises USD 2.06 billion According to RBI’s report, country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 2.063 billion to USD 400.24 billion. The data reveals that country’s reserve position with the IMF also increased by USD 11.2 million to USD 2.654 billion. Foreign currency assets mounted by USD 1.280 billion to USD 373.430 billion. Gold reserves increased by USD 764.9 million to USD 22.686 billion. Special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 6.2 million to USD 1.470 billion.
Ans 2- (b) 1.6 lakh
RBI increases limit on collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs 1.6 lakh To boost liquidity in the farming sector, particularly among small and marginal farmers, the RBI announced increasing the limit on collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs 1.6 lakh from Rs 1 lakh. This will enhance coverage of small and marginal farmers in the formal credit system. In 2010, the collateral-free limit for crop loans and term loans was hiked from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. It also decided to set up an internal working group to review agricultural credit and address issues such as regional disparity, and extent of coverage, among others.
Ans 3- (a) 2 Crore
RBI Doubles the limit of bulk deposits from Rs. 1 crore to Rs 2 Crore The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to raise the criteria for ‘bulk deposits’ for banks to Rs 2 crore from the current Rs 1 crore, to provide more operational freedom to lenders to raise funds. Banks have been given discretion to o er di erential rate of interest on the bulk deposits as per their requirements and asset-liability management (ALM) projections. It also proposed that banks would maintain their bulk deposit interest rate cards in the core banking system for supervisory review. The instructions regarding bulk deposits were last reviewed in January 2013 and de ned as single rupee deposits of Rs 1 crore and above
Ans 4- (c) United India
IRDAI imposes Rs 9 lakh ne on United India Insurance Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has imposed a ne of Rs nine lakh on state-owned United India Insurance. Insurance regulator IRDAI imposed a sum of 5 lakh for violation of regulations such as assigning of surveyors and submitting reports, insurer o ering a settlement to the insured as well as paying the claim to the insured. The balance 4 lakh – 1 lakh each was for violations of circular and guidelines on rates and discounts an insurer can o er.
Ans 5- (b) Kerala
Kerala HC verdict that banks are liable for unauthorized withdrawals from customer accounts The Kerala High Court Justice P B Suresh Kumar ordered that banks cannot be absolved of the liability for unauthorized withdrawals from their customers’ accounts. This judgment has been released after the appeal made by SBI against a lower court’s order to compensate a customer who lost Rs 2.4 lakh due to unauthorized withdrawals. While dismissing the appeal of SBI, the court clari ed that SMS alerts cannot be the basis to determine the liability of a customer, as there would be account holders who do not check SMS alerts regularly.
Ans 6- (b) Peso
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Asian DevelopmentDevelopment Bank raised $100 million in international market The Asian Development Bank raised $100 million from peso-linked bonds in the international market. It was their maiden issue of Philippine peso. Key Points The move will help to reduce foreign exchange risk for ADB’s borrowers and support its growing local currency lending operations in Philippines. J P Morgan was the sole lead manager and bonds were fully placed with institutional investors in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Ans 7- (d) State Bank of India
State-owned power giant NTPC has announced that it has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 5,000 crore with State Bank of India. The loan facility is extended at an interest rate linked to 3-Month MCLR of the Bank. This loan has a door to door tenure of 15 years and will be utilised to part nance the capital expenditure of NTPC.
Ans 8- (a) Investment and credit company
The Reserve Bank of India on February 22, 2019 merged the three categories of NBFCs i.e Asset Finance Companies (AFC), Loan Companies (LCs) and Investment Companies (ICs) Into a new category called NBFC – Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC). The aim is to ease operational exibility of these institutions. The same was announced in the Sixth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2018-19 dated February 07, 2019 and was brought into e ect on February 22, 2019.
Ans 9- (b) Syndicate Bank
Srei Equipment Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Srei Infrastructure Finance, has tied up with state-owned Syndicate Bank to jointly provide nancing for construction and farm equipment. Under the arrangement, Syndicate Bank would leverage on its low-cost funds and co-lend equipment loans with Srei at a mutually agreed rate. The arrangement had been done under the aegis of Reserve Bank of India.
Ans 10- (b) Bank of Japan
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of Japan formalised the USD 75- billion swap agreement, which would act as a cushion against any sharp swings in the local currency whenever the international nancial markets turn volatile. It will enable the availability of USD 75-billion in foreign capital for use as and when the need arises, bringing greater stability to the foreign exchange and capital markets in India and serve as a second line of defence as India has about USD 398 billion foreign exchange reserves to cushion sudden dollar out ows. The proposal for entering into an agreement for the bilateral swap arrangement was approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2019.
AGRICULTURE
Ans 1- (d) Five years
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers welfare issued Categorization of farmers in agriculture census Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Issued Categorization of farmers in agriculture census. Agriculture census was held at 2015-16 which is conducted in every ve years. Key Points In the census operational holdings are categorised as marginal, small, semi-medium, medium and large classes. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes and others are the sub classi cation of operational holdings on the basis of social groups. The government will focus in better and new technological solution for small and marginal farmers in order to improve and double this income by 2022. Categorisation of operational holdings as per Agriculture Census
Page 63 STUDY IQ Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers welfare issued Categorization of farmers in agriculture census Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Issued Categorization of farmers in agriculture census. Agriculture census was held at 2015-16 which is conducted in every ve years. Key Points In the census operational holdings are categorised as marginal, small, semi-medium, medium and large classes. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes and others are the sub classi cation of operational holdings on the basis of social groups. The government will focus in better and new technological solution for small and marginal farmers in order to improve and double this income by 2022. Categorisation of operational holdings as per Agriculture Census
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Sl.No. Category Size-Class
1 Marginal Below 1.00 hectare
2 Small 1.00-2.00 hectare
3 Semi-medium 2.00-4.00 hectare
4 Medium 4.00-10.00 hectare
5 Large 10.00 hectare and above
Ans 2- (b) Bihar
In Bihar, Governor Lalji Tandon and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh jointly inaugurated the three-day Krishi Kumbh in Motihari. Over fteen thousand farmers from di erent states and about two hundred agricultural scientists are participating in the Kumbh. The objective of Krishi Kumbh is to promote modern techniques and diversi cation in agriculture that could help in doubling farmers’ income.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Ans 1- (d) Egypt
Egypt's Abdel Fattah El Sisi elected new chairman of African Union Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on February 10, 2019 took over as the chair of the African Union (AU) following a meeting by heads of state from the continent in Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa. The post of AU’s chair rotates annually between the ve regions of the continent. The Incoming AU chairman President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to focus on the ght against armed groups on the continent and rebuilding e orts of countries recovering from con ict.
Ans 2- (d) Sanjay Kumar Verma
Sanjay Kumar Verma concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Marshall Islands Shri Sanjay Kumar Verma (IFS: 1998), presently Ambassador of India to Japan, has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Marshall Islands, with residence in Tokyo.
Ans 3- (d) Shri Sailesh
Shri Sailesh Assumed Charge as Secretary, Ministry of Minority A airs Shri Sailesh took charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Minority A airs. He will also hold the post of Secretary, Department of O cial Language as an additional charge. Sailesh is an IAS O cer of Assam-Meghalaya Cadre of 1985 batch. The Minister of Minority A airs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took meeting with the Secretary and other senior o cers of the Ministry and reviewed progress of scheme implementation for the welfare of minorities.
Ans 4- (b) Radheshyam Julaniya
Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS o cer Radheyshyam Julaniya will replace Rahul Bhatnagar as the Union Sports Secretary. Julaniya is a 1985 batch o cer and was working with his home cadre till now. Bhatnagar, an o cer of the 1983 batch from Uttar Pradesh, has been released by the Sports Ministry and is set to join the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
Ans 5- (a) Dinkar Gupta
Page 64 STUDY IQ Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS o cer Radheyshyam Julaniya will replace Rahul Bhatnagar as the Union Sports Secretary. Julaniya is a 1985 batch o cer and was working with his home cadre till now. Bhatnagar, an o cer of the 1983 batch from Uttar Pradesh, has been released by the Sports Ministry and is set to join the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
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Dinkar Gupta has taken over the charge of Director General of the Punjab Police. He took over the charge as DGP from Suresh Arora yesterday at a simple ceremony at the Punjab Police headquarters at Chandigarh.
Ans 6- (c) Ashutosh Raghuvanshi
Ashutosh Raghuvanshi has been appointed as the CEO of Fortis Healthcare. Fortis Healthcare Limited is a chain of hospitals, headquartered in India. Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare Bhd has become the controlling shareholder of Fortis Healthcare Ltd by acquiring a 31.1% stake in the company.
Ans 7- (c) Ricky Ponting
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will be head coach Justin Langer's assistant at the World Cup in England this summer. Ponting has held a similar role with his country's Twenty20 side and was part of the Australia one-day team's coaching set-up in England last summer. The 44-year-old, who won the World Cup three times as a player, will focus on the ODI team's batting. His appointment follows the resignation of assistant coach David Saker.
Ans 8- (b) Ruchira Kamboj
Ruchira Kamboj was appointed as the Ambassador of India to Bhutan on Monday. She is serving as the High Commissioner of India to South Africa since 2017, according to the Ministry of External A airs (MEA). A 1987-cadre Indian Foreign Service (o cer), she is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Kamboj has previously served as the Ambassador/PR to Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, Paris.
Ans 9- (b) Mohammad Mushtaque Ahmad
The President of Hockey India, Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, has been elected as the new Vice-President of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for a four-year term. Dato Fumio Ogura from Japan has been appointed as the new President of AHF. In addition, Asima Ali, Vice-President of Hockey India, has been elected unopposed as one of the executive board members of the AHF. The appointments were announced during AHF Congress on February 22 in Gifu, Japan.
Ans 10- (c) Brijbhushan Sharan Singh
Brijbhushan Sharan Singh has been re-elected as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)for a third time Brijbhushan and the other o ce bearers were elected unopposed and will serve WFI for a term of three years. I D Nanavati has been elected as the Senior Vice President.
Ans 11- (c) Mohammad Tahir Ela
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir sworn in Mohamed Tahir Ela, as the new Prime Minister of Sudan on February 24, 2019. President Bashir imposed a year-long emergency on February 22, 2019 after the government failed to suppress weeks of protests against his three-decade rule. Prior to his appointment as the Prime Minister, Ela was the former governor of the agricultural state of Jazeera
Ans 12- (b) Kareena Kapoor
Bollywood actress, Kareena Kapoor Khan is named as the brand ambassador of Swasth Immunised India, a year-long campaign initiated by Network18 and Serum Institute of India which promotes immunisation of babies under two years of age. The campaign was launched at Mumbai and Adar Poonawalla, President, Vaccine Manufacturers Association of India and CEO, Serum Institute of India (SII), Natasha Poonawalla, Executive Director, SII, and Dr Nitin Shah, section head of pediatrics department at PD Hinduja National Hospital, were present at the event.
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Ans 13- (c) Uma Nath Singh
Justice Uma Nath Singh took the oath as the rst lokayukta of Nagaland. He was formerly the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. His tenure would last for a period of 5 years or until he turns 70, whichever occurs earlier. The oath was administered to him by Governor of Nagaland P.B Acharya at Raj Bhavan. The ceremony was also attended by Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, Opposition Leader T R Zeliang, Cabinet Ministers, MLAs and other dignitaries.
Ans 14- (b) Ajay Singh
Ajay Singh, president of the Boxing Federation of India was selected as the president of the Foundation Board for Better Boxing of AIBA (International Boxing Association). He has been elected to the post for a tenure of four years. Other members of the foundation are- Gafur Rahimov, President, AIBA
Ans 15- (d) Kelly Knight Craft
Trump nominates Canada envoy Kelly Knight Craft as US ambassador to the UN Donald Trump is nominating Kelly Knight Craft to be the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. Knight is currently the US ambassador to Canada. DEFENCE & SECURITY
Ans 1- (a) Jaipur
Sapta Shakti Command of Indian Army conducts 'Exercise Rahat' in Jaipur In Rajasthan, Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command of Indian Army conducted a two- day Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise “Exercise Rahat”. It involves all stake holders at the national and state level. This was the eighth such exercise conducted by the Indian Defence Forces. The exercise was conducted in pursuance of the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Combined Commanders Conference - 2015 to achieve ‘Disaster Resilient India’
Ans 2- (b) INS Trikand
Indian warship INS Trikand, participated in “Cutclass Express 2019” INS Trikand, the frontline warship of the Indian Navy, participated in a multi-national training exercise ‘CUTCLASS EXPRESS 2019’ held from 27th January to 06th February 2019.INS Trikand, commanded by Captain Srinivas Maddula. The aim of the exercise was to improve law enforcement capacity, promote regional securityand progress inter-operability between the armed forces of the participating nations for the purpose of prohibiting illegal maritime activity in the Western Indian Ocean
Ans 3- (b) Helina
Helicopter-Launched Anti-Tank Missile 'Helina' Test-Fired India test- red its helicopter-launched version of one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons from the Odisha coast today. Helina, the helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile with a hit range of 7-8 km, was launched from an Army chopper. The weapon system was tested for its full range at 12.55 pm near the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in Balasore district, defence sources said. During the trial, the Helina was released smoothly from the launch platform, following which the missile tracked the target all through its course in order to strike with high precision. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), it is one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons in the world
Page 66 STUDY IQ Helicopter-Launched Anti-Tank Missile 'Helina' Test-Fired India test- red its helicopter-launched version of one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons from the Odisha coast today. Helina, the helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile with a hit range of 7-8 km, was launched from an Army chopper. The weapon system was tested for its full range at 12.55 pm near the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in Balasore district, defence sources said. During the trial, the Helina was released smoothly from the launch platform, following which the missile tracked the target all through its course in order to strike with high precision. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), it is one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons in the world
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Ans 4- (b) Karachi
Multinational Maritime Exercise ‘Aman 19’ commenced in Karachi The ve-day multinational maritime exercise ‘AMAN-19’, in which 46 nations are taking part, commenced near the coastal city of Karachi. The principal purpose of the exercise, conducted after every two years since it was initiated in 2007, is to provide a forum for understanding of each other’s maritime concepts and operational cultures and come up with ways and means to combat common threats at sea.
Ans 5- (b) India
The second indigenously developed ‘Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR)’ propulsion-based missile system was successfully ight tested in Odisha by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The success of SFDR propulsion technology is a signi cant milestone and will pave the way for the development of long-range air-to-air missiles in the country. Unlike conventional rockets that carry propellant and oxidizer, Ramjet uses the air as an oxidizer just like a jet engine. Therefore the weight of the fuel required is eliminated. The Indian SFDR will be used as variants of missiles such as the advanced version of ASTRA.
Ans6- (c) Iran
Iran announced that it will be launching a 3-day annual navy drill named “Velayat 97” in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, including a sensitive global shipping route, with an aim to evaluate the equipment of the navy, practice launching weapons and enable the troops to gain readiness in battle. It will be held in the waters of Strait of Hormuz, Makran coast, Oman Sea and the north of the Indian ocean and will cover an area of 2 million square kilometres. It will showcase Iran’s submarines, warships, helicopters and drones and will also include missile launches from the vessels. The Strait of Homruz, located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is an international transit route where American forces pass routinely and has seen tense encounters between the American and Iranian forces in the past
Ans 7- (c) Thailand
Thailand and the United States hosted the annual Cobra Gold military exercise, the biggest activity of its type in the Asia-Paci c region with 29 nations taking part as participants or observers. Apart from the 2 countries, 7 countries who participated in the exercise were India, Singapore, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. The Indian Army participated in the military training exercise with a 14-member contingent
EXTERNAL SECTOR GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
Ans 1- (c) Assam
Arundhati scheme The government of Assam has announced a new scheme called Arundhati to provide gold at free of cost to the brides. Under the scheme, the government of Assam aims to provide 1 Tola Gold to brides belonging to all such communities of Assam where it is customary to provide gold at the time of the wedding. The scheme is named after Arundhati, wife of great sage Basistha. The government has set aside Rs 300 cr has been for the implementation of the Arundhati Scheme. The bene t under Arundhati scheme can be availed upon formal registration of marriages under Special Marriage (Assam) Rules, 1954. The scheme is limited for economically weaker sections, whose annual income is below Rs 5 lakh
Page 67 STUDY IQ Arundhati scheme The government of Assam has announced a new scheme called Arundhati to provide gold at free of cost to the brides. Under the scheme, the government of Assam aims to provide 1 Tola Gold to brides belonging to all such communities of Assam where it is customary to provide gold at the time of the wedding. The scheme is named after Arundhati, wife of great sage Basistha. The government has set aside Rs 300 cr has been for the implementation of the Arundhati Scheme. The bene t under Arundhati scheme can be availed upon formal registration of marriages under Special Marriage (Assam) Rules, 1954. The scheme is limited for economically weaker sections, whose annual income is below Rs 5 lakh
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Ans 2- (b) Suresh Prabhu
Suresh Prabhu initiated two schemes in Mumbai for women SHG Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu launched two schemes, the Hirkani Maharashtrachi and District Business Plan Competition in Mumbai. About Scheme Under Hirkani Maharashtrachi, women’s Self-help group (SHGs) will display their business plan at taluka level. Ten groups will be selected from each taluka and Rs. 50,000 will be given to each SHG to implement their idea. Five SHGs at district level will be selected and Rs. 2 lakh will be given to each SHG to take the idea forward. Under District Business Plan Competition, competitors at district level will display ideas, out of which ve ideas will be selected from agriculture, social service, education and Work order worth Rs. 5 lakh will be given to the 5 selected ideas to implement the same
Ans 3- (b) 6
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has launched “Light House Projects challenge” for States/ UTs to select six sites across the country for constructing the Lighthouse projects under Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC- India). The winning six States/ UTs that score the highest marks across the prescribed criteria will be awarded lighthouse projects. The selected sites for lighthouse projects will be used as an ‘open laboratory’ for live demonstration. The States/ UTs will receive Central Assistance to construct these projects as per PMAY (U) guidelines.
Ans 4- (c) Tamil Nadu
With more connections being provided to bene ciaries under the Ujjwala scheme, liqui ed petroleum gas (LPG) coverage in the State is now 97.9%. That translates to 2.02 crore consumers. Substantial increases have happened in the last three years or so, bringing up the April 2016 gure of 80.08% with 1.61 crore consumers. Tamil Nadu is one of the States that has quite a high penetration of LPG in households with the three Government-run oil majors adding an average of 6 lakh regular connections each year. Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the companies have added around 9 lakh connections each year, explained oil industry sources.
Ans 5- (c) 100
Chief Minister of the Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, has announced the launch of ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ to provide employment to the urban poor of the state. The scheme is similar to the MNREGA scheme. The scheme will provide 100 days employment in a year to the urban unemployed youth. This will include the training period. The scheme will include urban youth of the age group of 21 to 30 years whose total families annual income is less than Rs 2 lakhs. They will be paid Rs 13,500 in 100 days at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month.
Ans 6- (b) Odisha
The Odisha cabinet has approved ‘Khushi Yojana’ to provide free sanitary napkins to around 17.25 lakh school girls from Class VI to XII across the state. The state government has earmarked Rs 466 crore to implement the scheme over a period of ve years.
Ans 7- (b) 6,000
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur. PM-KISAN scheme, announced in the interim Budget, released earlier this month will provide Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding/ownership of upto 2 hectares. The amount will be given in3 installments of Rs 2,000 each. The amount will be transferred directly to the bank account of the bene ciaries through Direct Bene t Transfer. After launching the scheme, the Prime Minister also handed over certi cates to select bene ciaries of the scheme.
Page 68 STUDY IQ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur. PM-KISAN scheme, announced in the interim Budget, released earlier this month will provide Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding/ownership of upto 2 hectares. The amount will be given in3 installments of Rs 2,000 each. The amount will be transferred directly to the bank account of the bene ciaries through Direct Bene t Transfer. After launching the scheme, the Prime Minister also handed over certi cates to select bene ciaries of the scheme.
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Ans 8- (b) Odisha
The Odisha government launched the boat ambulance service to help patients reach hospitals in remote areas cut o by rivers, at a cost of Rs 5.40 crore. The rst boat ambulance was launched at Batighar in the Kendrapara district. Six boat ambulances will add to the road eet and will be part of the 108 ambulance service. Patients from the areas cut o by rivers need to wait long for transportation to the nearest hospital. They would use boats to cross water bodies to the be picked up by 108 or 102 ambulance.
Ans 9- (a) Gujarat
The government of Gujarat has launched the second edition of the water conservation scheme Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan. About Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan: The scheme aims to deepen water bodies in the state before monsoon to increase storage of rainwater to be used during times of scarcity. It involves cleaning and desilting of riverfronts, sprucing up of Irrigation canals. Background: During the rst edition against its anticipated target of 16,616 works of deepening of ponds and lakes across the state, 18,220 works were accomplished. The rst edition witnessed an increase in the water storage capacity of more than 11,000 lakh cubic feet rainwater through di erent sources like ponds, reservoirs, check dams, bori bandh and other.
HONOURS & AWARDS
Ans 1-(c) Manipur
Weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai clinched gold at EGAT Cup in Thailand The 24 year old World champion Manipuri weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu notched up gold at EGAT Cup in Chiang Mai city, Thailand. Mirabai Chanu has won 48 kg category Gold with e ort of 192 kg in the silver level Olympic qualifying event for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She lifted 82 kg in snatch and 110 kg in lean and jerk to nish on top of the event
Ans 2- (b) Corentin Moutet
France’s Corentin Moutet, the second-seed, beat Andrew Harris of Australia 6-3, 6-3 in the singles nal Sunday to win the title in Chennai Open ATP Challenger tennis tournament in Chennai.
Ans 3- (a) Pankaj Advani
Country's ace cueist Pankaj Advani Sunday defeated Lakshman Rawat by 6-0 to clinch the 86th Senior Snooker National Championship title.
Ans 4- (b) Roma
72nd British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards ceremony, popularly referred to as BAFTA Awards 2018 was held on 10th February 2019 in Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom. The ceremony was hosted by English actress Joanna Lumley With seven BAFTAs, The Favourite by the director Yorgos Lanthimos emerged as the top winner on the awards night.
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Category Winner
Best Film Roma
Best Director Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Best Actress Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Best Actor Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Best Supporting Actress Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Outstanding British Film The Favourite
Best Animated Film Spiderman : into the Spider-verse
Best British Short Animation Roughhouse
Best British Short Film 73 Cows
Best Documentary Free Sol
Ans 5- (c) Sanjay Subrahmanyam
Indian historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam on February 10, 2019 won the prestigious Dan David Prize 2019 for his work on inter-cultural encounters between Asians, Europeans and people of North and South America during the early modern era. He won the Israel's prestigious USD 1 million dollar award in the category ''Past Time Dimension'' for his work in macro history. He shared the award in the Past category with Professor Kenneth Pomeranz of University of Chicago.
Ans 6- (a) This is America
Here is the complete list of Grammys 2019 winners: Album of the Year Kacey Musgraves, "Golden Hour" Record of the Year Childish Gambino - "This Is America" Song of the Year Childish Gambino, "This Is America" Best New Artist Dua Lipa Best Country Album Kacey Musgraves, "Golden Hour" Best Rap Song Drake, "God's Plan"
Ans 7- (c) Deepa Mehta
Acclaimed Indo-Canadian lmmaker Deepa Mehta will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. The Canadian Screen Awards are awards given annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television recognising excellence in Canadian lm, English-language television, and digital media productions.
Page 70 STUDY IQ Acclaimed Indo-Canadian lmmaker Deepa Mehta will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. The Canadian Screen Awards are awards given annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television recognising excellence in Canadian lm, English-language television, and digital media productions.
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Ans 8- (d) Divya Karnad
Dr Divya Karnad, professor at Asoka University has won the prestigious Global Future For Nature Award 2019 for her work on marine conservation that included sustainable shing of sharks and Olive Ridley sea turtles. She is the rst Indian woman and the only second Indian to receive this honour. The rst Indian to receive the award was Dr Charudutt Mishra. The Future For Nature Award is a an international award to recognise tangible achievements in protecting wild animal and plant species. The award is presented every year to 3 people. The other two recipients are Fernanda Abra (Brazil) and Olivier Nsengimana (Rwanda).
Ans 9- (d) Apurvi Chandela
Apurvi Chandela won the rst gold for India at the ISSF World Cup by nishing on top of the women’s 10 metre Air Ri e category in New Delhi. She also set a new world record with 252.9 points on the way to the title. Apurvi, who had booked a quota place for the 2020 Olympics last year, thus bagged her third individual medal at a World Cup. The Chinese took home both the silver and bronze medals. Zhao Ruozhu nished second while her compatriot Xu Hong had to settle for the third spot.
Ans 10- (a) Alyssa Healy
Australia Women wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy has set the Guinness World Record for the highest catch of a cricket ball. The 28-year-old broke the previous record (62 metre) by catching the ball released by a drone at 65.2 metre. She then caught the ball dropped from a distance of 72.3 metre before setting the new world record at 82.5 metre.
Ans 11- (d) Harmanpreet Singh
Indian Hockey player Harmanpreet Singh has won the 2018 Player of the Year by Asian Hockey Federation. India women’s Lalremsiami bagged the Rising Player of The Year prize. Best Performance of The Year: Indian Men’s Team (for being the only Asian side to have reached the top eight at the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.)
Ans 12- (b) Saurabh Chaudhary
Indian shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won gold in the men’s 10 metre air pistol category at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. In the nal, the shooter created a new world record with a score of 245. This is the second gold for India in this tournament. Apurvi Chandela had taken the rst gold for India when she won the title in the women’s 10m air ri e category
Ans 13- (d) Afghanistan
Afghanistan on February 24 took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Ireland after scoring the highest team total in the format -- 278 -- which helped them win by 84 runs. 278/3 is the highest team score in T20I cricket. The previous record was Australia's 263/6 against Sri Lanka in 2016.
Ans 14- (b) Abhijeet Gupta
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won the Cannes International Open after taking an easy draw with Pier Luigi Basso of Italy in the ninth and nal round that concluded in Cannes on Monday. Having been tied for the top spot in the previous edition, Abhijeet did one better winning the tournament with 7.5 points, a clear point lead over nearest rivals Nikita Maiorov of Belarus, Nasuta Grzegorz of Poland and Yuri Solodovnichecko of Ukraine.
Page 71 STUDY IQ Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won the Cannes International Open after taking an easy draw with Pier Luigi Basso of Italy in the ninth and nal round that concluded in Cannes on Monday. Having been tied for the top spot in the previous edition, Abhijeet did one better winning the tournament with 7.5 points, a clear point lead over nearest rivals Nikita Maiorov of Belarus, Nasuta Grzegorz of Poland and Yuri Solodovnichecko of Ukraine.
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Ans 15- (a) Chennai Spartans
Chennai Spartans won the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League(PVL) by defeating Calicut Heroesby 3-0 in Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai League’s top scorer and best spiker Rudy Verhoe , scored 13 points (11 spikes and 2 blocks) for the Chennai Spartans while Ajith Lal was the highest scorer with nine points (9 spikes) for the Calicut Heroes. With this win, Chennai Spartans have quali ed for this year’s Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, where they will represent India.
Ans 16- (c) 150
150 (Advanced Level) AL students from all 25 districts of Sri Lanka were awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship for Study in India by Sri Lankan Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu at a special ceremony in Colombo. This was the 12th year in continuum that India has provided the scholarship to Sri Lankan students. This year’s awardees received Rs. 30,000 annually during their two years of Advanced Level studies. Related Point India recently launched a new Portal titled “Study in India” and more than 25,000 seats are earmarked in Indian Institutions for foreign students.
Ans 17- (b) Green book
Oscars 2019: 91st Academy Awards Best Picture: Green Book. Best Actress: Olivia Colman (The Favourite as Anne, Queen of Great Britain). Best Actor: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury). Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Roma). Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk as Sharon Rivers) Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Green Book as Don Shirley) Best Original Screenplay: Green Book – Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly. Best Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman. Best Animated Feature Film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Best Foreign Language Film: Roma (Mexico-Spanish language). Best Documentary-Feature: Free Solo. Best Documentary – Short Subject: Period. End of Sentence. Best Live Action Short Film: Skin. Best Animated Short Film: Bao. Best Original Score: Black Panther Best Original Song: "Shallow" from A Star Is Born. Best Sound Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody. Best Sound Mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody Best Production Design: Black Panther Best Cinematography: Roma Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Vice Best Costume Design: Black Panther Best Film Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody Best Visual E ects: First Man. INDIA & THE WORLD
Ans 1 - (b) USA
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IAF gets four Chinook heavy-lift helicopters In a shot in the arm for the Indian Air Force, the rst four of the 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters arrived in India from the US on Sunday. The rst four CH-47F Chinooks for the IAF were brought to the Mundra Port in Gujarat. They will be assembled in Gujarat before being ferried to Chandigarh, where they will be formally inducted into the IAF later this year. In 2015, India had cleared the purchase of 22 Apaches and 15 Chinook helicopters for the IAF in a deal worth $2.5 billion from the US. The defence ministry had also nalised its order with Boeing for the production, training and support of the helicopters The Chinook, which is a battle proven machine, can carry 9.6 tons of load, including artillery guns, light armoured vehicles and heavy machinery to high altitude area.
Ans 2- (b) 1,800
India and Bangladesh sign MOU for training 1800 Bangladesh civil servants in National Centre For Good Governance India and Bangladesh have signed an MOU for training 1800 Bangladesh Civil Servants at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) an institute under the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Govt. of India, over the next 6 years. The MOU was signed between the NCGG and the Ministry of Public Administration, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on February 8, 2019 during the visit of the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.
Ans 3- (c) Norway
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change signed a Letter of Intent establishing the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative together with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign A airs. Earlier, the Indian and Norwegian governments agreed to work more closely on oceans by signing a MoU and establishing the India-Norway Ocean Dialogue during the Norwegian Prime Minister’s visit to India in January.
Ans 4- (b) India
The 46th Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in Abu Dhabi from March 1 to 2, 2019. India has been invited as Guest of Honour in this meet. India will be the inaugural plenary of the foreign ministers’ conclave of the OIC. External A airs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend it as the ‘guest of honour’
Ans 5- (d) Six
India and South Korea have signed six agreements/MoUs to enhance bilateral cooperation in key areas, including infrastructure development, media, start-ups and combating trans-border and international crime. They were signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to South Korea on the invitation of President Moon Jae-in. This was his second visit to South Korea since 2015 and second summit meeting with South Korean President. Signed Agreements are MoU on release of commemorative postal stamp on Queen Hur Hwang-ok (Suriratna): She was Ayodhya’s legendary Princess Suriratna, who had travelled to Korea in 48 CE and married Korean King Suro. MOU on Extension of Korea Plus: It will continue operations of Korea Plus- an organization that facilitates investments by South Korean companies in India. MoU on Start-up Cooperation:, MoU on Cooperation in Broadcasting etc
Ans 6- (c) Afghanistan
Context: Afghanistan recently began exports to India through Chabahar port in Iran. Afghanistan, a landlocked, war-torn nation is turning to overseas markets to improve its economy. Chabahar port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan this will ensure economic growth. The Iranian port provides easy access to the sea to Afghanistan and India has helped developed this route to allow both countries to engage in trade bypassing Pakistan.
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INDUSTRY
Ans 1 - (a) Greater Noida
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 11, 2019 inaugurated the 13th International Oil and Gas Conference - PETROTECH-2019 at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The three-day mega event is considered to be India’s agship hydrocarbon conference. It will showcase the recent market and investor-friendly developments in India’s oil and gas sector.
Ans 2- (d) Telangana
Chinese smartphone player Oppo on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to support and develop the startup ecosystem in the state. As part of the agreement, Oppo would provide technical expertise and mentoring support to startups helping the government create a supportive startup ecosystem for working in camera and image processing, battery, networks (5G), system performance, payments, Arti cial Intelligence (AI) and gaming, the company said in a statement
Ans 3- (d) Arunachal Pradesh
Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani launched the Integrated Large Scale Eri Farming in Arunachal Pradesh under North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) in Itanagar. Initially, the Project will cover ve districts of the state that are: Papumpare, East Kameng, Siang, East Siang and West Siang. While launching the centrally funded Scheme for Eri silk Farming, Union Textiles Minister said that about one thousand acres land will be covered for Eri Farming in the chosen districts of the state. Government has decided to provide nancial assistance to 4000 bene ciaries under NERTPS.
Ans 4- (b) SAFAR
The “National Conference on Logistics Policy: Context, Issues & The Way Forward” was held in New Delhi. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, addressed the rst stakeholder consultation on the draft logistics policy prepared by the Department of Logistics of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. He also launched the SAFAR Mobile App, on this occasion. The app is available in 8 languages
Ans 5- (a) Raigad
Saudi Arabia-backed $44-billion Ratnagiri re nery project may be shifted to neighbouring Raigad district in Maharashtra. Following farmer protests, Maharashtra stopped land acquisition for the re nery at the proposed site at Nanar village in Ratnagiri. Thousands of farmers refused to surrender land for the project, as it could a ect Alphonso mango and cashew plantations.
Ans 6- (b) Rail Drishti
Government launches Rail Drishti Dashboard to keep people informed about ongoing Railway works Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched Rail Drishti Dashboard in New Delhi to keep people informed about the work going on in the Railways across the country. The Ministry of Railways will get suggestions and comments through the platform and will plan on future actions. The information gathered by technology and other means can bene t if there is proper data analysis. People will get useful information from Rail Drishti through Railway WiFi facilities that are continuously expanding in the country.
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INFRASTRUCTURE
Ans 1 - (c) Guwahati
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today make a whirlwind tour of northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Tripura PM Modi laid foundation stone for North East Gas Grid in Guwahati, Assam. The Grid will ensure uninterrupted availability of natural gas across the region and boost industrial growth in the region. He inaugurated Hollong Modular Gas Processing Plant in Tinsukia which will deliver 15% of the total gas produced in Assam. PM inaugurated LPG Capacity Augmentation of Mounted Storage Vessel in North Guwahati. The foundation stone of NRL Bio Re nery at Numaligarh and a 729 km gas pipeline from Barauni - Guwahati passing through Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim & Assam was also laid by PM. PM laid the foundation stone of a six-lane bridge over river Brahmaputra.
Ans 2- (c) Arunachal Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently laid the foundation stone for the strategically important Sela Tunnel Project in Arunachal Pradesh. The project, costing Rs 687 crore, is being constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and would be completed in the next three years. Signi cance of the project: Once the 12.04-km tunnel is complete it will give a llip to the overall development of the area as it will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang and other areas. It will also reduce the travelling time from Tezpur to Tawang by more than an hour and boost tourism and related economic activities in the region. Need: Till now, the entry to the area was only through the 13,700-feet Sela Pass, which is covered in snow in the winters making the movement of vehicles di cult.
Ans 3- (d) Kerala
Kerala to get country’s 2nd longest rail tunnel: On completion, the 9.02-km tunnel will be the second longest one in the country A 10.7-km railway line, including a 9.02-km tunnel, has been proposed to connect the upcoming Vizhinjam International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport to the railway network. The 9.02-km tunnel, mooted by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) from near the Balaramapuram station on the Kanyakumari- Thiruvananthapuram railway line, will be the second longest railway tunnel of the country on completion.
Ans 4- (a) IIT Madras
Bosch opens centre for data science and arti cial intelligence at IIT Madras The Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Arti cial Intelligence (RBC-DSAI) was inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT M) on Wednesday (February 6, 2019). Bosch will invest 20 crores (2.5 million euros) over ve years in the centre. The mission of the new center is to create societal impact through multidisciplinary interactions with government, academic, research and industrial collaborators on core challenges in Data Science (DS) and Arti cial Intelligence (AI)
Ans 5- (c) Jhajjar
The projects include National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar and Shri Krishna Ayush University, Kurukshetra. The Prime Minister was in Kurukshetra to participate in 'Swachh Shakti 2019', an event to recognise the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission to achieve a clean and open defecation free country by October 2 this year.
Page 75 STUDY IQ The projects include National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar and Shri Krishna Ayush University, Kurukshetra. The Prime Minister was in Kurukshetra to participate in 'Swachh Shakti 2019', an event to recognise the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission to achieve a clean and open defecation free country by October 2 this year.
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The event was attended by woman sarpanchs and women associated with the 'Swachhta' campaign from across the country. Mr Modi distributed the 'Swachh Shakti 2019' awards on the occasion. He inaugurated 2,035-crore rupees National Cancer Institute, in Jhajjar district through video conferencing. The 700-bed hospital will have facilities like surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, anaesthesia, palliative care and nuclear medicine. The foundation stone of Sri Krishna Ayush University, Kurukshetra was also laid by the Prime Minister, along with foundation stone of 'Battles of Panipat Museum'. The museum will honour the heroes of the battles of Panipat. He also laid the foundation stone of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya University INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Ans 1- (c) Vietnam
Vat Cau festival: What is it? Vat Cau is a centuries-old sport which began as a training exercise for soldiers in Vietnam and contains elements of wrestling and rugby. Vat Cau is the main draw of a three-day annual festival held during Vietnam’s much celebrated Tet Lunar New Year. Dating back to the 11th century, the game was invented by a revered general to teach his recruits about the importance of teamwork, intelligence and strength when ghting against foreign invaders. A single match has four separate teams of eight men wearing waist straps of di erent colours. They tussle over a 17kg (37-pound) ball made from the wood of a jackfruit tree, laboriously inching it towards one of the holes dug in each team’s corner.
Ans 2- (c) Facebook
Facebook acquires GrokStyle virtual search start-up to boost AI capabilities In an attempt to enable users shop better using Arti cial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, Facebook has acquired US-based virtual search start-up, GrokStyle, at an undisclosed amount. GrokStyle was founded in 2015 and is based in San Francisco, USA.
Ans 3- (d) 2025
US launches Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative United States has launched Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) aimed at advancing economic empowerment of 50 million women in the developing world by 2025. This initiative has been conceived by Ivanka Trump, daughter and senior adviser of US President Donald Trump.
Ans 4- (d) Great Indian Bustard
Centre announces mascot for COP-13 on conservation of migratory species The Centre announced that the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) will be its mascot for the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on the conservation of migratory species (CMS) to be held in Gujarat next year. Representatives from 129 countries and eminent conservationists and international NGOs working in the eld of wildlife conservation are expected to attend the COP-13, to be held in Gandhinagar from February 15-22, 2020
Ans 5- (b) India
Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Vowing to reduce the U.S. de cit with large economies, President Trump is planning to withdraw the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from India, the world’s largest bene ciary of a scheme that has been in force since the 1970s. The trigger for the latest downturn in trade ties was India’s new rules on e-commerce that restrict the way Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart-backed Flipkart do business in a rapidly growing online market set to touch $200 billion by 2027. Implications:
Page 76 STUDY IQ Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Vowing to reduce the U.S. de cit with large economies, President Trump is planning to withdraw the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from India, the world’s largest bene ciary of a scheme that has been in force since the 1970s. The trigger for the latest downturn in trade ties was India’s new rules on e-commerce that restrict the way Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart-backed Flipkart do business in a rapidly growing online market set to touch $200 billion by 2027. Implications:
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With this, India could lose a vital U.S. trade concession, under which it enjoys zero tari s on $5.6 billion of exports to the United States. Generalised System of Preferences (GSP): The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a U.S. trade program designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated bene ciary countries and territories.
Ans 6- (d) Dubai
World Government Summit begins in Dubai The seventh session of the World Government Summit kicked o in Dubai with the participation of over 4,000 delegates from 140 countries. The summit will unite e orts and ideas to reinforce people’s wellbeing. Over 600 speakers, including heads of states, top thinkers and leaders as well as 30 international organisations, will address the summit.
Ans 7- (d) Russia
International Paralympics committee lifted ban on Russian athletes International Paralympics Committee (IPC) lifted the ban on Russian Para athletes under certain conditions. The ban was active since August 2016. Key Points Russian Paralympics Committee was suspended and Russian athlete was banned from Rio de Janeiro Paralympics by IPC on August 2016. IPC modi ed the decision as Russian Paralympic Committee had met 69 of the 70 reinstatement criteria outlined in 2016. IPC plans to raise additional conditions and reinstatement Russia on 15th March. Russia had made insu cient e orts to restore its status as per IPC. Russian Para athletes after clearing severe doping tests will only be allowed to participate in 2020 Tokyo Games. It will be the rst time in six years for Russia to compete.
Ans 8- (b) Germany
Federal Competition O ce (FCO), the German competition watchdog, said that Facebook users should be asked for consent before data collected by the group’s subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram and on third-party websites is combined with their social network account. FCO ruled neither should users who refuse permission for their data to be merged be shut out of Facebook services as a result. The FCO's requirement for speci c consent to merge data with Facebook accounts stopped short of media rumors that the authority could ban familiar products, such as the "Like" or "Share" buttons strewn around many third-party websites which aid data collection.
Ans 9- (a) Matthijis Wouter Knol
India Pavilion at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) 2019 was inaugurated by Mr Matthijis Wouter Knol, Director European Film Market (EFM). The poster of IFFI 2019 was also inaugurated by the dignitaries during the inaugural ceremony. Ministry of I&B, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry, is participating in the Berlin International Film Festival being held from 7th – 17th February 2019 at Berlin, Germany
Ans 10- (c) Sudan
President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir has declared a year-long state of emergency in Sudan on February 22, 2019 by dissolving the federal and state governments of the country. The reason for this is the anti-government protests in the nation since December, 2018. Demonstrators have been agitating against failure of Omar to take the nation out of economic woes ever since South Sudan seceded in 2011. His term was about to end in 2020.
Page 77 STUDY IQ President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir has declared a year-long state of emergency in Sudan on February 22, 2019 by dissolving the federal and state governments of the country. The reason for this is the anti-government protests in the nation since December, 2018. Demonstrators have been agitating against failure of Omar to take the nation out of economic woes ever since South Sudan seceded in 2011. His term was about to end in 2020.
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2015: Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari 2016: Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh International 2017: Ekal Abhiyan Trust
Ans 11- (a) Zimbabwe
The central bank in Zimbabwe (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)) has launched a new, devalued currency ‘Real Time Gross Transfer dollars (RTGS dollars)’ to combat a cash shortage. Zimbabwe has not had a local currency since 2009 and had adopted a multi-currency system dominated by the U.S dollar. The newly introduced currency is combination of Bond notes and electronic funds. Each 1 U.S. dollar will be exchanged at 2.5 RTGS dollars, at 60 percent devaluation.
Ans 12- (c) India
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended all discussions with Indian NOC and government and refused to provide hosting rights to the country for organizing global sports events and Olympic related sports in the future. The decision comes after India refused visas for two Pakistan shooters to take part in the New Delhi ISSF World Cup shooting 2019 due to Pulwama terror attack. IOC has also cancelled the Olympic quali cation status for the men’s 25m rapid re pistol event from the ISSF World Cup. It is the event in which the two Pakistan shooters were to take part. The ban will be valid until the Indian government gives clear written guarantees to ensure access for all athletes
Ans 13- (b) Namibia
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) recently told a bench of the Supreme Court that African cheetahs would be translocated in India from Namibia and would be kept at Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has given a ‘no objection’ for the translocation. The Wildlife Institute of India at Dehradun had prepared a ₹260-crore cheetah re-introduction project six years ago. It was estimated that an amount of ₹25 crore to ₹30 crore would be needed to build an enclosure in an area of 150 sq km for the cheetahs in Nauradehi. The proposal was to put the felines in the enclosure with huge boundary walls before being released in the wild, he said.
Ans 14- (d) Venezuela
EU urges nations to avoid any military intervention in Venezuela The European Union (EU) on Monday urged nations to avoid any military intervention in Venezuela. Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for diplomatic Chief of EU told reporters that there is need for a peaceful political and democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution of the crisis. Yesterday, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borell had said, EU has warned quite clearly that it will not support and rmly condemn any foreign military intervention.
POLITY & GOVERNANCE
Ans 1 - (c) Hindi
Abu Dhabi includes Hindi as third o cial court language In a landmark decision, Abu Dhabi has included Hindi as the third o cial language used in its courts, alongside Arabic and English, as part of a move designed to improve access to justice. According to o cial gures, the UAE population is estimated to be around nine million of which 2/3rd are immigrants from foreign countries. The Indian community in the UAE, numbering 2.6 million, constitutes 30 per cent of the total population and is the largest expatriate community in the country.
Page 78 STUDY IQ Abu Dhabi includes Hindi as third o cial court language In a landmark decision, Abu Dhabi has included Hindi as the third o cial language used in its courts, alongside Arabic and English, as part of a move designed to improve access to justice. According to o cial gures, the UAE population is estimated to be around nine million of which 2/3rd are immigrants from foreign countries. The Indian community in the UAE, numbering 2.6 million, constitutes 30 per cent of the total population and is the largest expatriate community in the country.
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Ans 2- (c) Ministry of Textiles
e-cocoon: What is it? It is a mobile application launched by the Ministry of Textiles for quality certi cation in silkworm seed sector. E app will help quality certi cation in silk worm sector. It will be used by the Seed Analysts and Seed O cers nominated under Central Seed Act for system and product certi cation through real time reporting. Background: India is the second largest producer of silk after China and the largest consumer of silk. India’s silk production capacity is expected to reach about 38,500 tonnes by 2020 from the current level of 32,000 tonnes.
Ans 3- (c) Ladakh
Ladakh declared Jammu & Kashmir’s third administrative division The Jammu & Kashmir Government on Friday declared Ladakh as the third administrative division of the state.The Government has approved the creation of a separated administrative/revenue division of Ladakh. The division will comprise Leh and Kargil districts, with Leh as the division’s headquarters. The creation of two posts of Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police (IGP) has been sanctioned for the new division.
Ans 4- (b) Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen
J&K terrorist group Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen banned by home ministry The Union Home Ministry has banned the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for promoting terrorism and radicalising and recruiting youth for terrorist activities in India. Set up in the 1990s, TuM claims to be ghting for the “liberation of Kashmir.” About the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA): This law is aimed at e ective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective is to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. The Act makes it a crime to support any secessionist movement or to support claims by a foreign power to what India claims as its territory. The UAPA, framed in 1967, has been amended twice since: rst in 2008 and then in 2012
Ans 5- (b) Gujarat
Centre allocates Rs 59 cr for Asiatic Lion conservation in Gujarat With the aim to protect and conserve the world’s last ranging free population of Asiatic Lions, the Ministry of Environment launched a three-year Asiatic Lion Conservation Project in collaboration with the state of Gujarat. It will focus on the scienti c management of the lion habitat with the involvement of communities, disease control and veterinary care for the overall conservation of Asiatic Lions. The project, at an estimated cost of Rs 98 crore, for which the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has allocated Rs 59 crore to Gujarat’s Gir sanctuary, will span over three nancial years 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021
Ans 6- (a) Information
ECI launches Voter Veri cation and Information Programme The Election Commission has launched a Voter Veri cation and Information Programme (VVIP) for veri cations of voters’ names, new registrations, changes or corrections in the Voter Id Cards for the upcoming General Elections. The Commission has also set up Contact centres in all the districts and the Voter Helpline number is 1950. The VVIP Programme was launched during the two-day intensive Training-cum-Workshop on the use of Information and Communication Technology for General Elections in New Delhi. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said technology is indeed a major game changer. A ‘PwD App’ to enable Divyangs for new registration, change in address and others details was also launched.
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Ans 7- (b) 50
Steps taken for the protection of Sentinelese Tribe The Sentinelese Tribe are the inhabitants of North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal in India .The Sentinelese tribe is at the verge of extinction.The 2011 census estimates their quantities at a mere 50. Measures taken The North Sentinel Island along with 5 km coastal sea is remarked as a tribal reserve. To make maritime sources like sh, turtle and many others readily available to this Tribal Groups (PVTGs),coastal sea up to a preset extent of 1 Km to 5 Km along the tribal territory is also been noti ed as a tribal reserve.
Ans 8- (b) Sashi Bhushan Behera
Odisha’s Finance Minister presented Interim Budget for 2019-20 Odisha’s Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera has presented the Interim Budget amounting to Rs. 1,32,660 for nancial year 2019-2020. Rs. 4,461 crore has been marked for KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme. Rs. 2,935 crore allocated for Rural Water Supply- BASUDHA Sheme. Rs. 2,120 crore has been allocated for Madhubala Pension Yojana.
Ans 9- (c) Jalpaiguri
PM Narendra Modi addresses Rally in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri Prime Minister Narendra Singh Modi has marked a rally in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri making it the 3rd in the state within a week after 2 rallies in Thakurnagar and Durgapur. He has inaugurated New High Court Circuit Bench in Jalpaiguri. This will facilitate justice to public of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in North Bengal.
Ans 10- (c) Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh Assembly cleared Kapu sub castes, EWS Bills The Assembly on Thursday passed the Bills for 5% reservation each for the Kapus (Kapus, Telaga, Ontari and Balija sub-castes) and other Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the general category on Thursday consequent to the 103rd amendment to the Constitution. The Bills are the A.P. Economically Weaker Sections of Citizens (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Public Services under the State for Kapus) Bill, 2019 and the A.P. Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) other than Kapus (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Public Services under the State) Bill, 2019.
Ans 11- (d) Jharkhand
Jharkhand Legislative Assembly passed Jharkhand State Scheduled Tribes Commission 2019 Bill with an amendment proposal brought by MLAs Radha Krishna Kishore, Shivshankar Oraon, Ram Kumar Pahan, and Laxman Tuddu. It has been stated that any person having knowledge about history, tradition, custom and culture can be appointed as chairman, vice-chairman and three members of the commission. Kishore sought an amendment in the appointment process. The post of chairman, vice-chairman and three members of the commission should be reserved for scheduled tribes (ST), as any non-tribal person can have knowledge about history, culture, custom and traditions of the tribals.” Kishore also stated that posts should be reserved for such tribal persons from birth follow the traditions, culture and customs of scheduled tribes. Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who was present in the house, gave his approval for the amendment.
Ans 12- (b) Ashok Kumar Gupta
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GovernmentGovernment e Marketplace (GeM) and Competition Commission of India (CCI) entered into a MoU to enable a fair and competitive environment in the e-Marketplace. Chairman CCI, A.K. Gupta, CEO GeM, S. Radha Chauhan were present on the occasion. GeM is a state-of-the-art national public procurement platform of Ministry of Commerce and Industries, that has used technology to remove entry barriers for bona de sellers and has created a vibrant e-marketplace with a wide range of goods and services.
Ans 13- (b) Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha today took up the Interim Budget2019-20 for discussion. Initiating the discussion, Tathagata Satpathy of BJD accused the government of doing nothing for the farmer. He said the budget announcement of providing six thousand rupees annually to small farmers will not even help them to ll up diesel in their tractors. On income tax exemption, Mr Satpathy said, people are aware that even if a taxpayer earns few rupees more than ve lakh rupees then they have to pay taxes for the entire amount. He said the government is contradicting itself by providing reservation to the poor section of the general category by setting a limit of eight lakh rupees and thus bringing a taxpayer in the ambit.
Ans 14- (b) Delhi
The rst LAWASIA Human Rights Conference was held recently New Delhi. It was organised by Law Association for Asia and the Paci c (LAWASIA), in association with Bar Association of India. The theme of the conference was “State Power, Business and Human Rights: Contemporary Challenges”. It explored a wide range of human rights issues of relevance in the Asia Paci c region. LAWASIA It is regional association of lawyers, judges, jurists and legal organisations, which advocates for interests and concerns of the Asia Paci c legal profession.
Ans 15- (d) Delhi
The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry will organise the rst annual conference of Media Units in New Delhi on February 13, 2019. The conference aims to give a unique platform to the o cers of the Indian Information Service working in di erent Media Units to converge at an All-India level. The conference will involve discussions and deliberations upon the emerging areas of the evolving communication paradigm. It will be chaired by Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore. Through the Conference, the Ministry aims to strengthen synergy between the Media Units in order to ensure last mile delivery. . Ans 16- (c) 30 days
In a bid to counter growing incidents of exploitation of Indian women by NRI (Non Resident Indian) spouses, External A airs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Ministry of External A airs (MEA) stated that the Bill will create accountability and protect those who are trapped in fraudulent marriages and are abandoned by their spouses. Register marriage According to the new Bill, a marriage between an NRI and an Indian citizen will have to be registered within 30 days from the date of marriage. Necessary legal provisions have been created in the criminal code and the Passports Act, 1967, to initiate action against erring NRI spouses
Ans 17- (c) Hepatitis
Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched ‘National Action Plan - Viral Hepatitis’, a national programme aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis, recognized as an important public health problem.
Page 81 STUDY IQ Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched ‘National Action Plan - Viral Hepatitis’, a national programme aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis, recognized as an important public health problem.
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The programme was launched in Mumbai in presence of Amitabh Bachchan, the goodwill ambassador for Hepatitis, WHO South-East Asia Region. The programme is also in line with the country's global commitment towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3. The aim of the programme is to combat hepatitis and achieve countrywide elimination of Hepatitis C by 2030.
Ans 18- (a) cVIGIL
Election Commission of India has developed cVIGIL, a mobile app, for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. ‘cVIGIL’ stands for 'Vigilant Citizen’. It was launched in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Complaints regarding the model code of conduct and expenditure violations can be lodged in during election time. To lodge a complaint, a voter should download the app from Google Play Store. Photos and two-minute video clippings regarding the violation can be uploaded via the app. Complainants also have the option to remain anonymous. Within 100 minutes of ling the complaint, the complainant will receive feedback on the action taken.
REPORTS & INDICES
Ans 1- (b) Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani ranked 1st in Hurun India Philanthropy list 2018 Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and also richest person in Asia, topped the Hurun India Philanthropy list with donation amount of 437 crores. Mukesh Ambani is followed by the chairman of the Piramal Group, Ajay Piramal who donated 200 crores.
Ans 2- (c) Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma becomes 1st Indian to smash 100 sixes in T20 Cricket Indian opener and stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma became the rst man from his country to smash a century of sixes in T20I cricket in the second T20 between India and New Zealand. At the end of the innings, Rohit was on 102 sixes, just one behind Martin Guptill and Chris Gayle, who top the charts. Behind him are the destructive NZ duo of Brendon McCullum and Colin Munro. Rohit Sharma surpassed Guptill to become the highest scorer in T20 Internationals.
Page 82 STUDY IQ Rohit Sharma becomes 1st Indian to smash 100 sixes in T20 Cricket Indian opener and stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma became the rst man from his country to smash a century of sixes in T20I cricket in the second T20 between India and New Zealand. At the end of the innings, Rohit was on 102 sixes, just one behind Martin Guptill and Chris Gayle, who top the charts. Behind him are the destructive NZ duo of Brendon McCullum and Colin Munro. Rohit Sharma surpassed Guptill to become the highest scorer in T20 Internationals.
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Ans 3- (c) Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana Scores India’s Fastest-ever T20I Fifty Indian opener Smriti Mandhana hammered the fastest fty for India in Women’s T20Is. The left-handed batswoman struck a half-century in just 24 balls in the 1st T20I against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. In doing so, the 22-year-old bettered her own record of a fty in 25 balls, which she created in 2018 against England. New Zealand’s Sophie Devine holds the record of the quickest half-century in women’s T20Is. She set the record in 2005 against India when she hammered an 18-ball fty. Mandhana was also the top scorer in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in which she scored 196 runs in 3 innings.
Ans 4- (b) Hisar
9th Senior Women's Hockey National C'ship to kick o in Hisar The 9th Senior Women's Hockey National Championship 2019 has started in Hisar, Haryana from February 8. Top India stars will turn up for their respective state units and employers for the tournament RSPB will begin their campaign against Hockey Rajasthan in the Pool A opening match during the 11-day domestic extravaganza
Ans 5- (b) Jaipur
The 22nd ‘Indian Birding Fair’ to be held on February 7-8 at Man Sagar Lake in the city will be dedicated to the conservation of wader birds. The 2-day fair will campaign for the conservation of as many as 84 species of wader birds found in the Indian subcontinent. This was informed by the President of the Tourism & Wildlife Society of India (TWSI), Anand Mishra at a press conference on Monday. He said the event will witness open-air sessions on conservation, quizzes, paintings, tattoo making, etc.
Ans 6- (c) 33rd
33rd Annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela Kicks O in Haryana The 33rd edition of the Surajkund International Crafts (Fair) Mela-2019, kicked o at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana. The International Fair is organised during the rst fortnight of each February annually. It will be held from 1st-17th February 2019. The event has been organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External A airs. Maharashtra has been chosen to be the Theme State. About 20 countries & all the states of India will take part in the Mela. It is a platform to celebrate Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage.
Ans 7- (b) Kerala
India’s rst Institute of Advanced Virology inaugurated in Kerala India’s rst Institute of Advanced Virology was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The Institute of Advanced Virology is a liated to Global Virus Network, which has 45 centres of excellence in over 29 countries. The institute was announced after the outbreak of the Nipah virus in the state in May 2018 and the foundation stone for the institute was laid on May 30, 2018. The institute can con rm the viruses causing infectious diseases and detect new ones without delay in order to plan preventive measures.
Ans 8- (d) Guwahati
3rd Brahmaputra Literary Festival, 2019 begins in Guwahati, Assam The third edition of the Brahmaputra Literary Festival, 2019 was inaugurated in Guwahati, Assam by the Chief Minister of the state Sarbananda Sonowal. Authors from more than 20 countries are taking part in the third edition of the Brahmaputra Literary Festival. The three-day literary event has been jointly organised by the National Book Trust and Publication Board Assam.
Page 83 STUDY IQ 3rd Brahmaputra Literary Festival, 2019 begins in Guwahati, Assam The third edition of the Brahmaputra Literary Festival, 2019 was inaugurated in Guwahati, Assam by the Chief Minister of the state Sarbananda Sonowal. Authors from more than 20 countries are taking part in the third edition of the Brahmaputra Literary Festival. The three-day literary event has been jointly organised by the National Book Trust and Publication Board Assam.
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Ans 9- (b) Bhubaneswar
The 5th edition of the International Dam Safety Conference 2019 will be held in Bhubaneswar on 13 and 14 February 2019. The event is a joint initiative of the Government of India, Government of Odisha and the World Bank. Dam Safety Conferences are organized as an annual event in di erent DRIP States under aegis of the ongoing World Bank assisted Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) as a part of institutional strengthening.
Ans 10- (a) Faridabad
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad. This is the rst ESIC Medical College and Hospital in north India and it has 510 beds. He laid the foundation stone of National Institute of Ayurveda, Panchkula. It will be a national-level institute for Ayurveda treatment, education and research.
Ans 11- (b) England
Jamie Chadwick from England made history by becoming the rst female driver to win the MRF challenge title after scoring a triple win in the nal round in Chennai. The 20-year-old became the rst woman to win the coveted prize after an incredible performance. In August, Chadwick became the rst woman to win a British F3 race.
Ans 12- (c) Guwahati
The 83rd edition of Senior National Badminton Championships has begun in Guwahati. Defending champion Saina Nehwal and last edition’s runner-up PV Sindhu will be the biggest attractions in Women’s Singles. The Men’s Singles will be without defending champion HS Prannoy and runners-up Kidambi Srikanth who are su ering from injuries. This is the rst time the Nationals is returning to the North-East since Guwahati last hosted it in 2010.
Ans 13- (c) 150 years
The decade from 2014 to 2023 could end up being the warmest in over 150 years of records. The gures released by the UK Met O ce are based on data from a number of sources including the latest publication of provisional gures for 2018. The records for annual global average temperature extend back to 1850. The global average temperature between now and 2023 is predicted to remain high. For the next ve years, it will be one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Ans 14- (c) 1.04 crore
Context: As on 06.02.2019, nearly 1.04 crore LPG consumers have voluntarily surrendered their LPG subsidy under ‘GiveItUp’ campaign. About the campaign: ‘Give it Up’ scheme encourages well-to-do households to voluntarily give up their lique ed petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy so that it could be targeted to the poor who remain reliant on polluting cooking fuels such as wood, dung, crop residues and coal. The money surrendered under this movement will be utilised for poor to get LPG connection in rural as well as in urban areas who are still using rewood for cooking.
Ans 15- (b) 40th
Iran is marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah and ended centuries of monarchy in the country. On February 1, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from France after 14 years in exile to become the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Across Iran on February 1, sirens blared at 9:33 a.m. – the exact time Khomeini’s plane touched down at Tehran’s international airport 40 years ago.
Page 84 STUDY IQ Iran is marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah and ended centuries of monarchy in the country. On February 1, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from France after 14 years in exile to become the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Across Iran on February 1, sirens blared at 9:33 a.m. – the exact time Khomeini’s plane touched down at Tehran’s international airport 40 years ago.
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Known as the Ten Days of Dawn, the anniversary ends on February 11, the date Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s government collapsed, bringing hard-line Shi’ite clerics to power.
Ans 16- (b) Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu on February 22, 2019 became the rst state in the country to get a second Coast Guard district headquarters at Thoothukudi. The rst Coast Guard district headquarters was at Chennai. Coast Guard DIG Arvind Sharma has taken over charge as the rst district Commander of the district headquarters (Tuticorin).
Ans 17- (c) PV Sindhu
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu ew in Made-in-India Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at the Aero India air show being held in Bengaluru. The combat jet’s trainer version was piloted by Group Captain Siddharth Singh, while Sindhu was the co-pilot in the tandem-seater cockpit. Sindhu is the rst woman to y in a Tejas aircraft.
Ans 18- (b) JioSaavn
India based global audio and music streaming service JioSaavn on Friday announced that it has secured the rst rank India-wise and 28th rank globally in the 2019 list of "50 Most Innovative Companies". JioSaavn is the only Indian company that made it to the list, published by US-based business publication Fast Company. The other domestic companies that ranked top on the India list of “Most Innovative Companies” include branded budget hotel marketplace OYO, biodegradable sanitary pad manufacturers Sathi and ride-hailing service Ola
Ans 19- (b) Bihar
Bihar has become the rst state to deploy specially-trained dogs to check smuggling of liquor which continues to take place inspite of the total ban imposed in the state for the last 3 years. 20 liquor-tracker dogs were trained rigorously for nine months in Hyderabad, Telangana. ii. They were trained at Hyderabad-based Integrated Intelligence Training Academy. Patna will witness deployment of 4 such dogs
Ans 20- (b) 8.61 %
Delhi's per capita income three times the national average: Economic Survey Report The economy of Delhi is estimated to have grown at 8.61 per cent in 2018-19, according to the Economic Survey Report tabled in the Assembly, here on Saturday The advance estimate of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Delhi at current prices during 2018-19 is likely to attain the level of Rs 7,79,652 crore, at the growth rate of 12.98 per cent over 2017-18. In real terms, the growth is estimated to 8.61 per cent during 2018-19," the report tabled by Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia said. The gross state value added (GSVA) at current prices for 2018-19 shows the contribution of the tertiary sector at 84.12 per cent, followed by the secondary sector at 14 per cent and the primary sector at 1.88, it said. The average income of Delhiite is around three times more than the national income average. The report estimates the Delhi’s per capita income at Rs 3, 65,529 against the national average of Rs 1, 25,397.
Ans 21- (c) Delhi
Health Minister inaugurates 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit Health Minister JP Nadda inaugurated the 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit in New Delhi on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nadda said, the government is committed to secure Universal Health Coverage for the underprivileged and deprived section of the society. He also said, nearly 13 lakh poor people have availed the bene ts of Ayushman Bharat scheme. The Minister said, the scheme is primarily dependent on maximising the use of digital tools for e ective implementation and monitoring.
Page 85 STUDY IQ Health Minister inaugurates 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit Health Minister JP Nadda inaugurated the 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit in New Delhi on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nadda said, the government is committed to secure Universal Health Coverage for the underprivileged and deprived section of the society. He also said, nearly 13 lakh poor people have availed the bene ts of Ayushman Bharat scheme. The Minister said, the scheme is primarily dependent on maximising the use of digital tools for e ective implementation and monitoring.
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Ans 22- (b) Kochi
The 44th IAA World Congress was organised in Kochi International Advertising Association (IAA), Kerala from 20th– 22nd February 2019. The conference lasted for 3 days. It involved sessions from a wide variety of speakers-ranging from a spiritual guru, industrial leaders to technology experts and so on. The highlight of the event was a robot trying to answer theme-based question-“Brand Dharma, What’s coming next?” Brand Dharma incorporates concepts like environmental impacts of products, their source of raw materials, how many people are involved in the process etc. TAXATION
Ans 1- (d) 50 %
Ahead of March 31 deadline, just 50 percent of country's PAN cards linked with Aadhaar Even as the Supreme Court made it mandatory for income-tax returns to be led with Aadhaar and xed March 31 as deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar, only 23 crore PAN card holders have so far linked the two. “The I-T department has so far issued 42 crore PAN accounts, of which 23 crore have been linked with Aadhaar,” said Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Sushil Chandra. Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.
Ans 2- (d) Sanjeev Sharma
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has formed a four-member committee to address tax related points and reduce the number of tax litigations. The committee will be headed by income tax commissioner Sanjeev Sharma. The committee is looking to tackle the issue in a two-prong way — addressing some current pain points and recommending some steps borrowed from international best practices.
Ans 3- (c) 1%
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) on a ordable housing properties without input tax credit (ITC) has been reduced to one per cent, while e ective GST of 5 per cent shall be applicable without ITC on residential properties outside a ordable segment, as was decided by the GST Council at its 33rd meeting. The new rate will be e ective from April 1, 2019. In metros, a at of 60 square meter carpet area and costing Rs 45 lakh in the apartment will fall in the a ordable housing category. In non-metros, the size will be 90 square meter carpet area and costing Rs 45 lakh.
MISCELLANEOUS
Ans 1- (d) 24th
A new dedicated DD Channel for Arunachal Pradesh-DD Arun Prabha will be launched by PM Modi at IG Park, Itanagar. The channel will be the 24th channel operated by Doordarshan. He will also dedicate 110 MW Pare Hydroelectric Plant in Arunachal Pradesh to the nation. The project constructed by NEEPCO will harness hydropower potential of the river Dikrong, a tributary of Brahmaputra, and provide cheap hydroelectric power to the North Eastern states, thereby improving power availability in the region. PM Modi will inaugurate the upgraded Tezu Airport in Arunachal Pradesh. The airport has been retro tted and a new terminal constructed for making it t for commercial operations under UDAN scheme.
Page 86 STUDY IQ A new dedicated DD Channel for Arunachal Pradesh-DD Arun Prabha will be launched by PM Modi at IG Park, Itanagar. The channel will be the 24th channel operated by Doordarshan. He will also dedicate 110 MW Pare Hydroelectric Plant in Arunachal Pradesh to the nation. The project constructed by NEEPCO will harness hydropower potential of the river Dikrong, a tributary of Brahmaputra, and provide cheap hydroelectric power to the North Eastern states, thereby improving power availability in the region. PM Modi will inaugurate the upgraded Tezu Airport in Arunachal Pradesh. The airport has been retro tted and a new terminal constructed for making it t for commercial operations under UDAN scheme.
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Ans 2- (b) Una
Himachal’s rst mega food park in Una Context: Cremica Food Park is the rst mega food park of Himachal Pradesh. The Park is located at Village Singhain Una District of Himachal Pradesh. It is set up at a cost of Rs 107.34 crore. Mega Food Park Scheme: To give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country. The Mega Food Park Scheme is based on “Cluster” approach and envisages creation of state of art support infrastructure in a well- de ned agri/ horticultural zone for setting up of modern food processing units along with well-established supply chain.
Ans 3- (d) Arunachal Pradesh
Film and Television Institute (FTI): The permanent campus of Film and Television Institute will come up at Jollang-Rakap (Jote), Papum Pare, Arunachal Pradesh. It will be the rst Film and Television Institute of entire North-East. This will the third Film and Television Institute of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the rst two being FTII Pune and SRFTI Kolkata. It will provide a boost to the talented youngsters of the North-East in lm and television sector.
Ans 4- (a) Moolchand Sharma
Shri Justice Ranjan Gogoi released a book “Law, Justice and Judicial Power – Justice P N Bhagwati’s Approach” The book “Law, Justice and Judicial Power – Justice P N Bhagwati’s Approach” written by Mool Chand Sharma was launched by the Chief Justice of India, Shri Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The rst edition of the book was received by President Ramnath Govind. Justice Bhagwati aka “father of public interest litigation in India”also referred to as “harbinger of environmental jurisprudence” and a “judicial statesman”. Ans 5- (c) 10 February
World Pulses Day celebrated on 10th February,2019 February 10, 2019, was the rst-ever World Pulses Day, a United Nations global event to celebrate pulses worldwide and continue the important gains made with the 2016 International Year of Pulses. In December 2013, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly voted unanimously to declare 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP), to celebrate, raise awareness and promote the consumption of pulses at events around the globe.
Ans 6- (a) Mahesh Anand
Bollywood actor Mahesh Anand passed away at age of 57 in Mumbai Hindi lm actor Mahesh Anand passed away at age of 57 in Mumbai. Mahesh Anand, was best known for negative roles in the movies of 80s and 90s. The villainous actor was last acted in the Govinda’s lm ‘Rangeela Raja’.
Ans 7- (b) Tehri
Himalayan Cloud Observatory set up in Tehri A Himalayan Cloud Observatory is set up in Tehri district with a motive to forecast and monitor cloudburst incidents in the Himalayan region and help minimising the damage. The Observatory is established in the SRT campus Badshithaul,in Tehri and is in testing period. This is the second observatory in the country to monitor cloud activities by the Indian Science and Technology Department and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur that can function in high-altitudes.
Page 87 STUDY IQ bankiq.in FEBRUARY 2019
Ans 8- (b) Hockey
Bullies are not very common in eld hockey nowadays. They used to be used to start the game at the center line, but now they are only used to re-start a match after play has been stopped. You might be wondering what a bully is. A bully is a faceo between two opposing players on the eld; they go head-to-head with one another in hopes of winning the ball for their team.
Ans 9- (a) Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutub Minar
Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Qutub Minar are now under Top 10 Revenue Generating Monuments The top revenue-generating monuments during 2015-18 include Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutub Minar, Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma informed Parliament. Along with these monuments the others in the top 10 include Sun Temple Konark, group of monuments in Mamallapuram, Ellora caves, group of monuments in Khajuraho, and the Ajanta caves in Aurangabad. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) spent Rs 2,37,46 lakh in 2015-16 for the conservation of protected monuments, while Rs 3,11,76 lakh was spent in 2016-17 and Rs 4,10,76 lakh in 2017-2018 for the purpose.
Ans 10- (c) Tripura
PM Modi unveils statue of Tripura’s last Maharaja Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a statue of Tripura’s last ruler, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya (reigned 1923-47), at the airport which was renamed after him in July last year. He unveiled the 7.5-foot-high, bre glass statue, designed and built by the faculty and students of Tripura government’s Art and Craft College at a cost of Rs 5 lakh. It was in 1942 that the Maharaja constructed the airport, which played a crucial role in the Second World War. Widely regarded as the creator of modern Tripura, the last ruler is also credited with planning of Agartala city.
Ans 11- (d) Nyishi
Arunachal’s Nyishi tribe celebrates Boori Boot Yollo festival The Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh is celebrating its fortnight-long Boori Boot Yollo festival. Boori Boot Yollo is observed in the month of February every year to welcome spring and a successful harvest. Arunachal Pradesh Governor Dr BD Mishra and Chief Minister Pema Khandu have greeted the people of the state on the occasion.
Ans 12- (b) February 10
National Deworming Day (NDD) The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is conducting its eighth round of National Deworming Day (NDD). NDD is observed bi-annually on 10th February and 10th August in all states and UTs followed by mop-up activities.
Ans 13- (b) Albert Finney
Oscar-nominated British Actor Albert Finney Passes Away Oscar-nominated British actor Albert Finney passed away peacefully after a short illness. He aged 82. He was a ve-time Oscar nominee who began his career at the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his mark in lm. His big lm break came as “angry young man” Arthur Seaton in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.
Ans 14- (c) Uttar Pradesh
Centenary celebrations of International Labour Organization The centenary celebrations (100 years) of International Labour Organization (ILO) in India was inaugurated at V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. ILO was established in 1919 and India being its founding member. It was established in 1919 as agency of League of Nations. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. At present, it has 187 members (186 of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands)
Page 88 STUDY IQ Centenary celebrations of International Labour Organization The centenary celebrations (100 years) of International Labour Organization (ILO) in India was inaugurated at V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. ILO was established in 1919 and India being its founding member. It was established in 1919 as agency of League of Nations. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. At present, it has 187 members (186 of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands)
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Ans 15- (d) Uttar Pradesh
Yogi Adityanath ags o 33 ‘Sarthi Sandesh Vahini’ vehicles in Gorakhpur Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath agged o 33 ‘Sarthi Sandesh Vahini’ vehicles in Gorakhpur. The ‘Sarthi Sandesh Vahini’ is a mission started by the state family welfare department with an aim to spread awareness regarding family planning in urban and rural areas. The Abhiyan is being launched to spread awareness about the various disease and provide medical assistance to the needy. The rst phase of the campaign has begun on 10 February and it will continue till February 28. The second phase will start from 15 May to 15 June and the third phase will begin from June 1 to June 30.
Ans 16- (c) February 8
A toll free cleft helpline number was launched on National Cleft Day India’s rst toll free national cleft helpline named Smile Train India cleft Helpline launched by Smile Train India on National Cleft Day. National Cleft Day is Observed on February 8 2019. Key Points The number 18001038301 is accessible to people throughout India and they can receive 100% free, quality and safe cleft treatment. It will create awareness about cleft surgery support by Smile Train and their partner hospitals across India
Ans 17- (d) Kolkata
Two day Bengal Global Summit held in Kolkata The fth edition of West Bengal Global Business Summit was inaugurated by state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. It is a two day summit held in Rajarhat, Kolkata West Bengal bagged over Rs. 40,000 crore worth of investment proposals from Reliance, Group, ITC and others multinational companies on the rst day of the business summit. The summit came to a end with West Bengal government signing 86 agreements entailing business proposals worth 2.84 lakh crore. West Bengal with a Gross State Domestic Product of USD 155.32 billion is the 4th largest contributor to India’s GDP and 6th contributor to India’s manufacturing GDP
Ans 18- (c) Bangladesh
Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa to be on four-day visit to Bangladesh from 11 Feb to 14 feb Chief of Air Sta Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will be on a four-day visit to Bangladesh. He will meet the Chiefs of the three Defence Services and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. An o cial release said, the Air Chief will also visit operational and training units of Bangladesh Air Force.
Ans 19- (c) Tomi Ungerer
The renowned French cartoonist, author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer passed away at the age of 87 in Ireland. He was a lifelong activist who protested against racial segregation, the Vietnam war and the election of US President Donald Trump. Tomi Ungerer ha written famous children’s books like The Three Robbers and The Moon Man. He wrote in three languages: English, French and German. He published over 140 books which have been translated into 30 languages.
Ans 20- (c) New Delhi
The International Symposium on “Advances in Agro meteorology for Managing Climatic Risks of Farmers” (INAGMET-2019) was inaugurated at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on February 11, 2019. The 3 day international conference from February 11 to 13, 2019 has been jointly organised by Association of Agro meteorologists (AAM), India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Centre of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Agricultural Research Institute and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Page 89 STUDY IQ The International Symposium on “Advances in Agro meteorology for Managing Climatic Risks of Farmers” (INAGMET-2019) was inaugurated at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on February 11, 2019. The 3 day international conference from February 11 to 13, 2019 has been jointly organised by Association of Agro meteorologists (AAM), India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Centre of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Agricultural Research Institute and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
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INAGMET-2019 is a platform for professionals, scientists, policy makers and other social groups to share knowledge and experience about the risks and uncertainties in agricultural production system due to increasing climatic variability and weather extremes and identify the technologies/practices and develop a roadmap to overcome these issues through agrometerology
Ans 21- (b) February 11
The International Epilepsy Day is observed every year on the second Monday of February. In 2019, the International Epilepsy Day is being observed on February 11. The day is organised by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) to raise awareness about epilepsy and highlight the kinds of problems faced by victims, their friends and family. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which makes a person go through sudden and recurrent episodes of sensory disturbances.
Ans 22- (c) Saroj Bala
A book titled “Ramayan Retold With Scienti c Evidences” that is authored by Saroj Bala has been released. Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has released the book. The book narrates the biography of Lord Ram with exact dates of important events, depicting corresponding sky views and weaving other supporting scienti c evidences into the story told by Maharshi Valmiki. The author is an IRS o cer of 1972 batch, had retired as Member of CBDT in 2009
Ans 23- (c) P A Sangma
The Meghalaya Cabinet has decided to rename the Dikkibandi stadium in Tura town after former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma. The state Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma approved the recommendations received from the state naming authority tasked with the job to name roads, and institutions after personalities. Purno A Sangma is also a former chief minister of Meghalaya.
Ans 24- (b) 11 February
11 February is celebrated as International Day of Women and Girls in Science to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology. 2016 is the rst time it was celebrated. The idea behind this day is to ensure equal participation and involvement of women and girls in the elds of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Ans 25- (a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
President Ram Nath Kovind on February 12, 2019 unveiled the life size portrait of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Central Hall of Parliament. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Ministers and leaders of various parties were present during the event. The former Prime Minister provided crucial leadership in challenging situations. The 1998 nuclear test in Pokhran and the 1999 Kargil war are examples of his rm decisions taken in the interest of the nation
Ans 26- (a) Mathili
A committee constituted for making a report for the Promotion and Protection of Maithili Language and its scripts, has submitted its report to MHRD in which it has made several recommendations for promotion and protection of Maithili language. Important recommendations of the committee are as follows: To establish a Script and Manuscript Centre at Darbhanga in any one of the Universities viz. Kameshwar Singh Sanskrit University or Lalit Narayan Mithila University. Early completion of the work pertaining to Unicode Scripts of Mithilakshar by Technology Development of Indian Languages (TDIL) and To prepare audio-visual teaching materials for teaching the Mithilakshar scripts.
Page 90 STUDY IQ A committee constituted for making a report for the Promotion and Protection of Maithili Language and its scripts, has submitted its report to MHRD in which it has made several recommendations for promotion and protection of Maithili language. Important recommendations of the committee are as follows: To establish a Script and Manuscript Centre at Darbhanga in any one of the Universities viz. Kameshwar Singh Sanskrit University or Lalit Narayan Mithila University. Early completion of the work pertaining to Unicode Scripts of Mithilakshar by Technology Development of Indian Languages (TDIL) and To prepare audio-visual teaching materials for teaching the Mithilakshar scripts.
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Ans 27- (c) Odisha
More than 10,000 Ujjwala Didis have been identi ed by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to act as the brand ambassador of LPG and promote its usage in the state. Ujjwala Didis will act as a bridge between existing and prospective LPG consumers and the distributors in the state. The LPG penetration in the state has increased to 73% from 20% in 2014.
Ans 28- (c) Twitter
Evan Williams, the co-founder of Twitter has announced to step down from the board of the companyfrom February 2019 end. Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone started twitter in 2006. Evan was the second largest Twitter shareholder on the company’s board behind CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey.
Ans 29- (d) Mumbai
Safeguarding the shores and promoting India-Asean trade along the sea route would be the theme for the country’s maiden ‘Regional Maritime-Safety Conference’ in Mumbai. The inaugural edition is being organised by the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) in coordination with the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of External A airs
Ans 30- (b) Agartala
Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti inaugurated Sikaria Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd at Village Tulakona in Agartala. This is the 17th Mega Food Park in the country and rst in the state of Tripura. The Mega Food Park has been set up in 50 acres of land at the cost of Rs. 87.45 crore. The Ministry of Food Processing is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme to give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with a particular focus on perishables. The government of India provides nancial assistance up to Rs. 50.00 Crore per Mega Food Park project.
Ans 31- (b) Indonesia
A team of researchers spotted the world’s giant bee which is as big as a human thumb, in Indonesia for the rst time since 1981. The team has spent years studying the bee and slogged around in humid Indonesia forests for days before stumbling upon one. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classi es this species as “vulnerable” due to mining and quarrying
Ans 32- (d) Filmmaker
Well-known Telugu lmmaker Kodi Ramakrishna, best known for directing memorable lms such as “Ankusam”,”Ammoru” and “ Arundhati” among others passed away in Hyderabad. Ramakrishna made his directorial debut with 1982 Telugu romantic comedy “Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya” with megastar Chiranjeevi. Having predominantly directed lms in Telugu, Ramakrishna also made lms in Kannada and Tamil.
Ans 33- (b) February 24
Purpose: Commemorate the establishment of the Central Excise and Salt Act on 24 February 1944. The day encourages the employees of excise department to carry out the central excise duty in better way across the country to ensure better tax observance
Ans 34- (c) Chennai
The fourth edition of 'Science at the Sabha', organised by The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, will be held here on February 24, said an o cial. The programme is part of the institute's outreach programme to the common man.
Page 91 STUDY IQ The fourth edition of 'Science at the Sabha', organised by The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, will be held here on February 24, said an o cial. The programme is part of the institute's outreach programme to the common man.
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The event-like feature talks on topics like “Tra c rules in neurons” by Sandhya Koushika, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai; “Untwisting the twisted matter” by Vijay Shenoy and “The whole is more than the sum of its parts” by Sitabhra Sinha, The Indian Institute of Mathematical Science, Chennai.
Ans 35- (b) New Delhi
On 23rd February 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Global Business Summit in New Delhi Key points: He announced that India would be a 10 trillion-dollar economy- the third largest in the world. He highlighted the role of his government’s policies in establishing a high growth rate and controlling in ation. The government would provide conducive environment for start-ups and promote renewable sources of energy. He said that the government works towards the upliftment of all the sections of the society, and does not discriminate on the basis of their economic pro le, their caste, creed, language and religion. He highlighted the role of the government in establishing the highest post-liberalisation growth rate of 7.4 per cent and lowest in ation of less than 4.5 per cent. He said that 100 smart cities are being built across the country and also mentioned high speed trains and their development and elimination of all unmanned railway crossings.
Ans 36- (b) Delhi
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated ‘Waste to Wonder Park’ which houses the replicas of seven wonders of the world made from scrap material at Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi. It was built by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC)and is the rst-of-its-kind tourist attraction in the world, with the replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Ei el Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, Rome’s Colosseum, and the Statute of Liberty.
Ans 37- (a) 1960
On the lines of Pulwama terror attack, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that India has decided to stop the ow of its share of water to Pakistan. In this regard, Centre is planning to build projects on 3 rivers owing into Pakistan, to divert water towards Yamuna. The water will be diverted from the eastern rivers and supplied it to Indians in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. This was in line with some of the government’s earlier decision to harness the rivers Ravi and Beas better. According to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, the eastern rivers of the water system — Sutlej, Ravi and Beas — were to be with India while Pakistan would get Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. On the main river Indus too, India was given the right to exploit without disturbing the ow or quantum
Ans 38- (c) Uttarakhand
Director General of Police Anil Kumar Raturi that against the intoxicants in the state, the police will set up an anti-drug cell in every school, college and youth institutions. It will be coordinated from the police station to the SSP. The responsibility of monitoring the cell in the state will be the responsibility of the Anti-Drug Task Force ly expanding in the country.
Ans 39- (c) Deloitte
Deloitte on Saturday announced the launch of its global initiative ‘WorldClass’ in India, which aims to support 10 million girls and women by 2030 through education and skills development. For this purpose, it will also align with organisations such as Katha and Pratham. Globally, WorldClass initiative seeks to prepare 50 million people to be better equipped for the future of work, in-line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it said in a statement here.
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Across India, almost 40% of girls aged 15-18 years drop out of school and college, and only 26% of women are employed. Punit Renjen, Global CEO, Deloitte, said, “Our goal with WorldClass is to empower 50 million people globally by 2030, by providing
Ans 40- (c) Himachal Pradesh
Monkeys have again been declared vermin for the next one year in 11 districts’ 91 tehsils and sub-tehsils of Himachal Pradesh. crops and causing harm to humans. Declaring animals as vermin: Wildlife laws divide species into ‘schedules’ ranked from I to V. Schedule I members are the best protected, in theory, with severe punishments meted out to those who hunt them. Wild boars, nilgai and rhesus monkeys are Schedule II and III members — also
Section 11(1)a of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) authorizes chief wildlife warden to permit hunting of any problem wild animal only if it cannot be captured, tranquillized or translocated. they have become dangerous to humans or property (including standing crops on any land).
Ans 41- (b) New Delhi
PM Modi dedicates National War Memorial to the nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the National War Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi on Monday evening.
The memorial honours about 26 thousand soldiers, who have laid down their lives in the service of the nation since Independence.
Missions and Counter Insurgency Operations.
Air Force and Navy. Busts of the 21 awardees of Param Veer Chakra have been installed at Param Yoddha Sthal.
Ans 42- (b) Uttarakhand
A helpline for quick redressal of public complaints was launched by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat at the IT Park in Dehradun. The helpline number for lodging complaints is 1905. To deal with the redressal issues, call centres shall be open from 8am to 10pm.
Ans 43- (a) 1925
The Kakori Conspiracy (or Kakori train robbery or Kakori Case) was a train robbery that took place between Kakori and, near Lucknow, on 9 August 1925 during the Indian Independence Movement against the British Indian Government.
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